Buried
by ericastwilight
Summary: His reality was made of nightmares. She was plagued by them. Will she conquer her fears in time? Can he protect her?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

The smell of wet dirt assaulted his nose as he exited his SUV. Lingering dark clouds hung back, threatening to let loose overhead again.

_Chance of light showers, my ass_, he thought.

He only hoped that the thick canopy of the trees would provide some cover from the rain; there didn't seem to have been enough to wash away evidence, yet. He knew he shouldn't be there. All he wanted was one look. The local police chief threatened to have his PI license pulled if he continued to muscle his way into the case.

The FBI had taken over weeks earlier, yet there had already been another victim. Those on the case were following the serial killer's clues as some poor woman, under the age of twenty-seven, was awakening to a nightmare.

The killer loved to taunt his victims. It was a game to him. He'd give false hope to the woman, provided only enough air for her to breathe in custom coffins he built himself. She'd hear the screams of her name by the search team. By then, she'd be hoarse, and she'd expend too much energy trying to cry out for help, wasting her air supply faster. As she heard the scrape of shovels overhead, she'd be gasping for breath. By the time they reached her, she would be dead, out of air, lifeless eyes wide open to the canopy of stars above. It had to be a horrible way to die.

A crack from a dry branch echoed in the oddly still night behind him. He swirled around to see, alert and aware. The scent of pine, wet dirt and debris, surrounded him, but he saw nothing. He reached for his holster and grabbed his weapon. The grip of his gun was a familiar friend in his hand.

He was close. The killer kept returning to the scene of the original victim. He was sure of it. There was no other explanation to the type of combination of bugs and dirt found on the other victims, as it was mostly found in the forest that surrounded him. One of the tiny crawlers was only indigenous to that particular area. More than once, he told the investigators that it was a calling card, or a slap in the face meant for him.

It had to be.

Another branch cracked and he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. Sweat beaded across his brow, as he kept a steady hand, weapon ready as he checked out his surroundings. Turning left and right, nothing seemed to move in the too still, green foliage. Not even a damn rabbit or snake stirred.

Before his mind recognized the sound of footsteps, someone got the drop on him. Pain radiated across his neck and the back of his head, and he fell to his knees. His breath shuddered out of him, when another blow on his ribs, sharp and brutal—a kick.

With his hand still raised, he twisted away, turning toward his assailant, shooting blindly and missing. The gun, his only friend he trusted in the world, kicked away from his loosening grip. He heard the crackle of bone, his fingers likely broken.

Gasping for breath, cradling his injured hand against his chest, he roared into action once again, reaching for his hunting knife in his boot. A chuckle on his right told him that his efforts were fruitless. His salvation kicked away before he could even bring it up to protect him, darkness suddenly welcomed him in its warmth.

~oOo~

He awakened slowly. Bright light coming from near his feet intruded his closed eyes. He wondered for a moment how drunk he'd gotten the night before; a tri-weekly event, if he could manage it. Dark and bright spots danced across his eyes. He groaned and rubbed a tired hand over his stubble-covered jaw. His knuckles rapped smartly overhead, his eyes snapping open as reality intruded.

Awareness crept over him as memories assaulted him. His hands registered the obstruction over his prone body before his mind caught up. Alarm bells rung in his head, his fingers clawing at the pine boards, inches above him.

"Welcome," a robotic voice called from some corner of his pine coffin. "I thought since you are so determined to know what happened to your sister that it would only be fair for you to experience what she went through."

As laughter echoed throughout, he roared, clawing and punching at the wood that held him trapped.

~oOo~

Bella screamed as she shot out of bed, running toward the bathroom, a sliver of light her only beacon. She reached blindly for the sink, bracing her hands on either side of the mirror. Her eyes closed, because she was afraid of the face that would superimpose over hers in the reflection, a lingering memory of her nightmares.

It always happened that way. There was a nightmare or daydream, a scream, a scramble for the nearest mirror to see the next victim.

"Please don't be him," she cried, her eyes slowly fluttering open. Instead of her pale face and wide brown eyes in the mirror, green ones, the shade of fresh pine needles, stared back at her.

"No," she whimpered, her knees giving out. "Not Edward."

* * *

**AN: Thanks to kimmie43 for her help with this fic.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Bella's lungs nearly rattled in their cage, begging for air. She tried to settle her heart before it escaped her body or she passed out. Already dizzy, she slowly climbed to her feet, turning the faucet on to wet her face.

Time was of the essence.

Her head snapped up, _her _reflection staring back at her that time. "Edward," she gasped, turning quickly and running to her dresser. She slipped on a long sleeve shirt over her tank top, pulling on converse over her sockless feet. Keys dug into her palm as she searched for her cell phone, a once useless item until that very moment.

Bella pressed a key on the small phone, thankful that it lit up. She ran down the stairs, her body started to tremble as sweat broke out along her forehead and on top of her lips. She pushed back the usual fear, another gripping her harder when she pulled off the cover to her truck.

"Dad," she said firmly when he answered, anything to convey the state of emergency she was in that moment.

"Bella?" his voice that was groggy when he answered, turning to alert and concerned. "Bella!"

"Dad, I had another one!" she cried, tears she had kept bay flooded her.

"That can't be, baby," he murmured, and she could hear him close a door as she did the same. "No one has been reported missing."

"Daddy, it's not a woman this time," her voice warbled as her stomach churned with the images that replayed in her head. The way Edward tried to punch his way through the thick pine. "It's Edward Cullen."

Charlie cursed under his breath, hearing that his daughter was hysterical. It wasn't unusual since she started to have strange dreams that plagued her for the last seven years. He didn't want to believe that one of his former deputies had refused to listen to reason, or the fact that they wouldn't reach him on time.

Like all the others.

"Daddy, I can't have another one on my conscience."

His heart broke for his daughter; no matter what he told her, she still felt guilty. "Do you want me to pick you up?" His breath caught, waiting to hear the denial he'd heard often. His daughter hadn't left her home in years. He heard the roar of the engine and his pulse quickened.

"Dad, I'm in _The Beast_."

~oOo~

Edward did what he could to calm himself, closing his eyes from the sight of the bloodied wood above him. One of his hands lay useless, his fingers likely broken from when the killer had disarmed and kicked him.

"Do you think you overlooked something?" the robotic voice toyed with him, as it had been since he woke up to his worst fears. "Come on, Eddie. Give me something so I can tease my next target with." There was a sigh, strange, yet even robotic, it sounded almost wistful. "Didn't you ever wonder why your beautiful sister was different?" A laugh sent a chill up Edward's spine. "One of these is not like the others."

"The rest are all brunettes," Edward said as calmly as possible. He didn't need to feed the monster's sick, twisted game. If it was in the cards for him to die, so be it. He wouldn't beg for his life and give the bastard the satisfaction in goading him. "She was the only blonde. We already knew this."

"Think, Edward. Why was she different? After all, she was the first…or was she? Or maybe I grabbed the wrong one. Oops."

"She wasn't the intended victim," Edward hissed, his eyes stinging from his tears.

"No." The word dragged out, taunting.

"Who, damn you? Who was it supposed to be? Who did my sister replace?"

"Who. Who," the voice mockingly echoed, setting Edward on edge again. "She was a sweet dear friend to your sister. Think hard."

Edward ran through bittersweet memories of giggling high school girls that usually traveled in packs around his sister. He was at least eight years older than any of them and they had mostly annoyed him whenever they'd come over when he visited. There was one girl that stood out, though—pretty, feisty and the one that helped Rosalie out of her shell. She had disappeared shortly before his sister was murdered so cruelly, with no explanation as to why she'd gone.

"Bella," he said confidently, not at all comforted by the name.

"Beautiful Bel—lah," the voice hissed. "Someone has been keeping secrets from you."

The betrayal hit him in the gut. Why had Charlie kept him from the truth? What else was he keeping a secret by protecting his daughter? Other things started to click together. Charlie always seemed to know where to look for the buried victims. How? Unless he was the killer.

"Charlie?"

The laughter continued for several seconds before Edward realized the killer was playing him. Made to think he'd found out the name of his sister's killer. Something he promised his poor mother to find before she had died, brokenhearted after Rosalie's murder.

~oOo~

Bella's hand trembled as she clasped the door handle of her truck. How she managed to make it out of the house, she'd never know. The only thing that drove her was the thought that a part of her best friend, the one she couldn't save, was out there buried alive.

Slipping and sliding in the mud, she cursed the rain that started to fall relentlessly when she left the sanctuary of her home. The sound of the truck door slamming closed made her startle and she found the shovel she grabbed from her garage. She hadn't second-guessed herself when she left, but her body was still trying to get her to stop. Shaking, she refused to give into the fear any longer.

Noises were mostly scarce as the rain fell, only the beating rhythm of the weather played all around her. She sniffed the air, trying to remember the scent in her dream. It was that vivid. She saw, felt, and heard everything as if she was the victim.

At that moment, she felt partially separated from her body. As if a part of her was inside that pine box with Edward. She kept her calm, though it wasn't easy.

She walked through the thick mud, and in the bushes, until she found Edward's truck. It stood out against the dark greens and earthy browns in a contrasting red. She closed her eyes, lifting the shovel in front of her like a talisman, her only means of protection. She mimicked everything Edward had done in the dream as quickly as possible, counting her steps and listening for the one that attacked him. She knew that the killer was likely long gone. From her dreams and the reports, he liked to watch them as they screamed and begged for their lives. He placed a tiny video camera in all the coffins.

_He's watching from miles away. _She reminded herself. She was safe.

She spent several minutes stumbling through the forest. When she saw a mound of dirt ahead, she scrambled toward it, falling to her knees along one side. She stuck the shovel in the dirt, pulling the sodden mess downward and behind her. "Edward!" she whispered hoarsely. She didn't want him to know she was there yet. It could cause him to panic, shorten his air supply. What if he tipped off the killer? He could come back to stop her. She shuddered at the thought.

The mud was piled high, the hole was so deep—so damn deep. She worked hard, sweat mingling with her tears and rain. The sounds of sirens wailing under the thunder that clapped in the angry sky made her cry out in relief.

Help was coming.

~oOo~

Edward heard the cry of the siren just seconds before the scrape of metal against wood sounded from up above. He kept his calm during his ordeal, which would allow him to live another day.

"You lose this time, fucker."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Bella was on her hands and knees at the grave's edge, watching and waiting as her father and the others worked to open the coffin. Two of his long time deputies were surprised to see her, but said nothing. She barely breathed, the worry nearly choking her. Her eyes stung from tears and grit, her fingernails ached. The rain didn't help matters, either. Adrenaline still coursed through her, but she knew it wouldn't last much longer.

She couldn't even imagine the aftermath later. It could be weeks, maybe months of hiding in her home, too afraid to even step outside of it even after successfully venturing out in over seven years. The last murder had confined her in her home worse than ever. She couldn't even step onto her porch for weeks.

Edward's death would undoubtedly confine her.

Garbled words from inside the box filtered out as the hinged lid fell open. A chilling robotic voice called out her name. "I see you after all this time. Bella, how did you find our boy, hmm? I'll see you soon, my dear."

Gasping, Bella fell back on her ass. Her father and Mark, his deputy, snapped their gazes toward her, realizing what the chilling voice meant.

He was watching.

Trembling, her mind started to shut down, terror gripping her heart.

_He found me. _Still, she thought, it was worth it. She had saved Edward.

~oOo~

Edward shaded his eyes from the bright beams from flashlights overhead. Distant voices started to clear as he breathed deeper. The air was no longer stagnant, tinged with his blood and sweat that assaulted his nose from inside the box. It was fresh and moist from the latest rainfall.

The robotic voice that taunted him for the last hour had another message, but one not meant for him. The bastard was watching and he knew who helped to find him.

Bella—a name from his past.

Before Edward's eyes could focus on anyone, Agent Garrett Winters and Alastair Redmond each took a hand, helping him up from the tomb that almost claimed him. They were the lead agents on his sister's case. He groaned and hissed in pain. He'd forgotten about his hand since it had gone numb and Alastair's grip reawakened his broken fingers and the pain.

"Careful there," Charlie said, from somewhere on Edward's left. "Bella said he probably has a broken hand."

_How would she know that? _

Edward's fuzzy vision focused on Charlie. At five foot eleven, the man was impressive, as he held a nearly unconscious woman in his arms as if she weighed as light as a feather.

"Not so fast, Char-lie," Edward slurred, realizing he'd been too close to running out of air. He stumbled onto the grave's edge, as mud thick and slippery fallen leaves beneath his feet deterred him. The men quickly aided him to his feet again. "I deserve some f-fucking answers."

Edward's eyes, clearer now, settled on the girl in Charlie's tight hold. He hadn't seen her in years. Her long brown hair heavily saturated with rain, spilled over his arm. It almost reached the ground. Her face was pale, less full than the last time he'd seen her, but she was so young then. Her hands were bloody and caked with mud, as was the rest of her body and clothes, as if she helped dig him free.

"And you'll get some," Charlie stated, looking at Agent Garrett and nodding. "Bring him by the cabin later." He turned, Mark an old friend of Edward's, followed behind him.

"How did she know about my hand?" Edward asked Garrett, feeling more drained than ever. They'd met a lot over the years, since the death of his sister. As the lead of the case, he made sure he knew Garrett well enough.

"I'll let Charlie and Bella answer that question," Garrett stated as he led the way. His words registered. Since when was an FBI agent on a first name basis with the Chief's daughter? When had she returned from wherever she had run to years before?

Hell, Edward thought she was dead.

Carefully, Edward, under extreme protest was on a gurney, since an ambulance was standing by. Though every bone in his body ached, all he wanted was to follow an ancient red truck and Charlie's cruiser, but nobody gave in to his demands.

~oOo~

"I'm fine," Bella whispered, shivering as her dad helped her take a mug of hot chocolate in her hands. He had to help curl them around, her fingers felt so cold.

"You haven't stopped shaking since you got out of the shower."

"I'm cold?" she tried, but the look of concern in her father's gaze was enough to know she wasn't very convincing. She looked down at her cup, watching the swirls of steam curl up toward the ceiling. "How long until they get here?" she asked, changing the subject. It seemed safer, since she didn't fear the people coming.

_That might be a stretch, _she thought.

"Knowing Edward, he would've been here by now," Charlie said, shrugging. "But his old man and Esme will keep him at the hospital for a while longer. Maybe an hour, Garrett wants to talk to you, too."

"He's going to hate me." Charlie knew she meant Edward. She didn't need to explain.

Charlie hated the way his daughter looked at that moment, so vulnerable and so damn fragile. "It's me he'll vent his anger to," he snapped, his protective instincts driving him to lash out. "If he knows what's good for him."

"I was the one that begged for no one to know about my part in all this, besides those essential to the case."

"You were a damn minor. You had every right not to have your named released as a victim. The only reason the details of your kidnapping were kept under wraps is because we all felt he would come after you." He tugged on his hair a bit. "Plus, we weren't sure if your kidnapping was connected with the others."

She cocked an eyebrow, because she knew he hadn't believed that for a long time. "Tonight confirmed it."

Charlie cleared his throat, wondering how to approach a tough topic. "About that—"

"Dad, I will _not _go to a safe house. Not after what happened to Rose, if I hadn't…"

"First of all, there was nothing you could've done, even then. You need more protection than that." Charlie pointed to Bella's Saint Bernard named Rufus, who grunted from where he lay. "Especially since he's been under the weather," he was quick to add.

"He barks at strangers," she said, rolling her eyes. Not that any came by the house. "Besides, the security system you installed here was already checked out by Jake. That one man army already confirmed it was the best of the best."

"Cost a pretty penny, too."

Bella looked at her father, tilting her head to one side. He was avoiding her eyes. "Would you feel better if I was armed?"

"Having a gun is not enough," Charlie said, but nodded, "But if you're willing to go through some training—"

"I am not leaving the house again."

Charlie sighed, knowing that her latest panic attack at Edward's burial site and the night's events would likely set her back for months to come. "We'll figure out something."

Rufus stirred from his perch near the fireplace, letting out a deep bark right before the state of the art alarm system let them know that company was there. Bella's chest ached and her instinct to hide reared its ugly head.

It was time to tell her story.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Edward's body hurt like a bitch, as he followed Garrett up a graveled walkway. He popped open his usual bottle of ibuprofen found in one the pockets of his leather jacket. Shaking a few or four into his mouth, he winced as he swallowed them dry. There was a jolt of pain from the three broken fingers in his right hand, all in a ridiculous splint he'd remove later. It reminded him that he refused a prescription of something stronger, which he'd regret in a few hours. He'd chase his next dose of pills with a little alcohol if he had to.

From the corners of his eyes, he saw the four cameras aimed at them, tracking their movements as they made their way toward the front door. Security was tight and the place wired everywhere, had been since they drove up to the hidden entry to the mile long private drive.

A desire to see what he was dealing with had Edward kneeling to tie his combat boots, thankful his step-mother Esme had brought him a set of clothes from home along with a few essentials. If it were up to him, he'd burn the clothes he'd worn in that box; instead, they were evidence.

His eyes landed on the reinforced steel front door, lightly concealed with a faux wood paint job. He followed some wiring that peeked beneath the door's trim to the ground and under the mat.

Perhaps Edward should've told Garrett that he was standing on a ticking time bomb, depending on whose finger was on the trigger. It would likely blow up or electrocute him. A camera over the door moved to zero in on the agent, and then rose slightly, likely focusing on him.

Edward finished playing the part, stood, and gave the asshole behind the camera, likely his former boss, the middle finger.

"Nice to see you, too, Cullen," Charlie barked in his usual cheery tone. The man had one tone, firm.

The speakers seemed to surround him and he wondered if the alarm system was particularly loud due to the location of his daughter's home. He always thought the area was government owned. Mostly dense forest occupied the land. She was in the middle of nowhere, and Edward doubted anyone would hear it no matter how loud.

Her nearest neighbor had to be at least a few miles away.

"Now drop your weapons into the bin."

The box mailbox under the porch light shot forward, opening to reveal a large compartment, big enough for all kinds of deliveries. What drove Bella to hide herself out there? Had Charlie forced her to for reasons Edward still didn't know? He needed answers and it was obvious, he couldn't step into the house armed.

Edward cursed a blue streak, dropping his favorite gun and knife into the bin. Agent Garrett followed suit, not once complaining. That told Edward that he'd done all of it before.

"I ain't gonna shoot you, Charlie," Edward grunted.

Charlie matched his too calm tone- a first. "I'm not taking any chances with my daughter."

Edward's lips thinned at the reminder of why he was there, for Bella. The same person that saved his life and likely who the killer was really after. Charlie had secrets, and his daughter, Rosie's best friend in high school, was in the center of it all.

"Just open the damn door," Edward hissed, pushing his way through when he saw it open a crack. A startled yelp had him grabbing the door before it could slam against the wall or the person behind it.

Where Bella "Bellie" Swan in her youth was outgoing, all bright smiles and pink cheeks with shiny brown hair, the woman before him looked like a startled rabbit. When her eyes rolled and she collapsed against the wall, he cursed himself again.

Everyone knows not to scare a rabbit.

~oOo~

Bella woke up with a soft moan, and she was still dizzy. The panic attack she had at the burial site and the one in her shower were likely to blame. She heard voices and kept her eyes closed to listen in on the conversation.

"I told you we'll give you answers, Edward, but you need to calm down before she comes to," her father stated firmly. She heard the edge in his voice and worried about his blood pressure. It had been a terrible night already, and he didn't need someone bullying him into a heart attack.

"I will not calm down when you've had answers that I needed for years!" The voice that replied was one she hadn't heard in a long time. After Rosalie's murder, Bella hid in some old cabin along with Billy, a friend of his father's that was an avid hunter and would lay his life down for her.

Edward had left their tiny town of Brinnon, Washington years before Rosalie died, making a name for himself in Seattle. His career as a detective skyrocketed after a high profile case when his sister was still in high school. He had his pick of precincts, but then he received that call that changed so many lives. His sister was missing, and when he returned home to help, they found her, but twenty-two minutes too late.

Bella learned from her father that Edward chose to stay with his grieving parents and took a job as a deputy in their small town, though that hadn't lasted long. The man didn't care where he worked, because he always believed that Rosalie's killer would return to their tiny town. He didn't know how right he was, the killer likely never left.

Her eyes slowly opened, the overhead fan circled above, making her head spin again. She groaned, clutching her stomach. She hoped the hot chocolate she indulged in wouldn't make an appearance again.

"You're awake," Edward said, hovering above her.

"Back off," Charlie demanded and pushed Edward away with glare in his direction. Her father's face softened when he helped her sit up on her couch, offering her a glass of water.

"Thanks," she whispered. Her voice still hoarse from the attacks she had all night.

"Is she suffering from some form of PTSD or something?"

"Goddamn it, Edward," one of her few friends, Garrett said from behind the couch. "Use some fucking manners, will you?"

"I will the second someone gives some damn answers," Edward hissed. From under the protection of her hair, she watched the pair argue. Garrett in his six foot height, all neat and orderly as most FBI agents were, was shorter than Edward was. Where Garrett had hair in a short, basic cut in a dark brown, Edward had a mop of unruly hair in an array of colors, including some gray.

She giggled, remembering how she used to tell him he'd grow old and gray if he didn't stop bitching so much. Of course she'd been slightly high at the time, sharing a spiffy with Rosalie and Emmett at a party only a minute before he arrived to take them home.

He killed her buzz that night.

"I hardly think this is a laughing matter," Edward said, glaring at her.

"You're right," she said, buttoning up her lips. However, the imagery and memories rushed through her and she burst out laughing until there were tears in her eyes. There was pretty Rosalie with her long blonde hair, big smiles and soft singing voice, her very best friend.

Rosalie wasn't smiling anymore and Bella's laughter quickly turned to sobs.

Edward took a few steps back as Garrett and Charlie tried to calm her down. "Fucking hell," he muttered under his breath. He hadn't meant to drive her off the deep end, and it was obvious that the woman that sat on the couch, crying in her father's arms was sinking fast.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Not your fault," she said, hiccupping once after a few minutes and offering him a small smile. "It was just that when I saw you, I remembered something that I said to you."

Bella said many things to him when he visited home. She would always stay with his family when Charlie was working overnight. The girls somehow always managed to sneak out of the house under his watch, and twice he had to pick them up from a back woods party with the local punks. Drunk and high, and taking pleasure when he woke them up the next morning with pancakes and obnoxiously loud music.

"Was it one of those times you told me to stick it where the sun don't shine, Bellie," he teased, surprised that the same tone of their old banter was like second nature to him, even after all this time.

She scowled at him, because she always hated that name. It was the one he gave her when she accidentally caught her belly button piercing in her shirt and screeched, waking up the whole house. Charlie was not pleased to know that his daughter had one, had even grounded her for three months.

She talked her way out of it in three weeks.

"I think it was before," she said, sighing. "I see you got the premature gray hair I always warned you about."

He chuckled, but sobered up when he remembered why he was there. "Tell me what I need to know."

Bella's eyes closed and her fists tightened. "It took a while for us to figure it out, but we believe that I was his first victim," she said softly. "Only, I lived."

"Jesus," Edward hissed, and ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the too long length. "Don't you think I had a right to know?"

"You were not involved in the case because of your sister," Garrett explained. "But that's not the reason why you weren't told. Until tonight, we think he believed that Bella was dead or in a coma."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

"Christ," Edward said, tugging at his hair. "Wait a second." He looked at Bella again. "Why would he have a message for you? How did he know you were there?"

The position of the camera in the pine box wouldn't allow the killer to see her outside of it.

"He thought she was dead or close to it," Garrett stated firmly. "There was a camera mounted on a tree near the burial site, he saw her come to your rescue. Our people said it was custom made with generic parts found on the internet. Benjamin, our tech guy, did say that between the camera in the coffin and the one on the tree, he had to have been within a mile and a half from the site to pick up the signals."

Edward nodded, glad for his excellent memory and ability to retain any information he gathered. It helped during his entire career and it was time to put it to use to find the one responsible for the death of his sister. Despite his exhaustion, he wanted to hear it all. "Tell me you had someone search the area."

Garrett gave him a look that clearly stated he wasn't incompetent. "Of course, but we're talking about a large area out in the middle of nowhere, in rough terrain. We have men out there with dogs, maybe we'll find out where he was, but he'd be long gone by now."

Bella visibly shuddered, her hand tightening around her father's fingers. Since he arrived, she hadn't stopped shaking. Was it his presence? Was it everything that happened in the last few hours?

Edward couldn't figure out how she'd known where he was. "Something must've tipped him off since we got so close last time," he offered.

The last victim Lauren Mallory had been dead for only three to five minutes, despite that the paramedics weren't able to revive her. The other victims had been between twenty minutes to almost an hour too late by the time someone could reach them.

"Maybe he realized that there was no way anyone would know so much about where to find them," Bella continued, running her free hand through her long hair. "He was hoping someone would show up."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Edward asked, even more confused. He took the seat opposite the others, needing a good view of their faces. Watching their body language would help determine if they were bullshitting him. "I thought the killer left clues." He'd never seen them, only heard.

Edward watched as the trio shared looks, but Bella was the one to answer. "I should probably start at the beginning."

"Please do," he said rather rudely, tired and desperate for answers. That earned him a couple of glares from the other men, but Bella's lips quirked into a smile. "I'm sorry, but considering what I'd been through and the things that bastard said, I'm frustrated."

"What did he say?" Charlie asked.

"That Rosalie wasn't the intended victim, that Bella was," Edward replied and then turned to address the woman in question. "Made me think that the killer was Charlie, but then he seemed to be joking. With the way you're all skittish and shit, and what you've said, I'm more confused than ever."

She nodded, slipping a still damp curl of dark hair behind her ear. "Do you remember when my dad said I was sick?"

Edward's lips pursed as he tried to recall. "I remember Rosalie calling me at work crying that you had some kind of blood clot. You had disappeared, and it freaked her out." He never asked Charlie about her more than once, had been warned not to when he returned home.

"Do you remember the timing of that call?"

He only shrugged in response.

"It was just before Rosalie was taken," she said, sighing and looking at her father for support. It was there in his eyes, loving and hurting as much as she appeared to be. "It was a partial lie, a cover up." Edward gave her a "no shit" look, which she ignored. "I'd been walking home from school and took the short cut off Mill Creek Road."

Edward knew the area, but it was rather rough terrain for a novice or a high school girl. "Not a good place to cross any time of day," he stated automatically, and Charlie grunted in agreement.

She rolled her eyes. "It's the scenic route and by then I'd done it a hundred times," Bella grumbled. Edward remembered how stubborn she was back then. "Anyway, I heard something behind me and the next thing I know I'm waking up from a coma in a hospital in Seattle three weeks later."

Three weeks? That would be around when his sister disappeared. "You don't remember anything do you?"

Bella sighed, "Bits and pieces. I'd been missing for almost two days. Dad told me they found me by the side of road, covered in mud, with all my fingernails torn up and bloody. I had torn my clothes as if I'd been running in the forest. They searched the area where they found me while I was in the coma, but didn't find anything. We don't know where I'd been."

"The area doesn't exactly get a lot of traffic," Garrett added. "We think she walked for several miles before someone drove by and saw her."

Edward couldn't even imagine the state she would've been in, and he didn't want to either. "Did you have a head injury?"

"A minor concussion," she stated, rubbing the back of her head. "They don't think it was the cause of the coma, because I really did have a blood clot as Charlie told Rosalie. I was in a coma and by the time I woke up, I had no clue what happened to me. Everything before that day is intact, but after the sound I heard behind me was gone."

"That doesn't explain why he thought you were dead."

"The rumors, I'm sure you heard."

"That you were in a vegetative state," Edward cursed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Yeah, I heard, broke my sister's and my mama's heart from what I remember." His too, but he didn't say that aloud.

"It wasn't until sometime later that we figured out the killer wanted some kind of confirmation since he couldn't seem to find me."

"Rosalie," Edward hissed, his hands tightening into fists. "He knew if you were alive and well, you'd be out there looking for her with the rest of us if she was taken."

"That's what we think," Charlie stated.

Edward shot up from the chair he was sitting in, everyone else doing the same. "You should've fucking said something."

"We didn't know until well after Rosalie had died that their two cases were tied," Charlie said, also on his feet, standing protectively in front of his daughter. "Hell, we didn't even know Bella had been buried alive, too."

Edward was seething. The information of her kidnapping and survival could've saved the others. "You don't get to say Rosalie's name!"

Garrett put himself between the two men just as Bella's cell phone rang. Charlie and Garrett's eyes snapped to the device that shook across her coffee table.

"Answer it, damn it," Edward hissed at Bella.

"Everyone that would call is in this room," she whispered gravely, her eyes on the phone. "Jacob is on deployment, it can't be him. Billy already checked in before you got here."

Who was Jacob? Edward wondered. Billy was a friend of Charlie's he met a few times.

"Answer it, Bells," Charlie said.

Garrett cursed, "I'm not prepared for the possibility of him calling." He pulled out his cell phone.

When no one moved on the third ring to answer, Edward grabbed it and put it on speakerphone. "What do you want?"

"Ah, I see you've decided to pay Bella a visit," the same robotic voice from his would-be grave said. "Edward, Edward. What have they told you? Good things, I hope."

"What do you want?" he asked again, trying to remain calm.

"Why to talk to my long, lost, and dear Bella, of course."

"Not going to fucking happen." He had to protect her from the man that seemed set out to destroy her.

Laughter, cold, and spine chilling filtered through the small speaker. "Do you think you can keep her from me? I finish what I start."

_The fuck you will_, Edward thought. He had to keep the asshole on the line, it could help Garrett's tech guy get him. "Guess that means you'll be coming after me, too. You fucking failed to kill me."

"True, maybe I'll do a kill two birds with one stone kind of thing. It would be a challenge to build a coffin for two. It would make for an interesting hour before you two both die."

"Sick bastard," Edward said through clenched teeth as Bella hid her face against her father's chest, violently shaking.

"Tell me, Bel-la, how did you find Lauren and Edward so quickly?" There was more laughter, quick and unpleasant, the voice rising. "Inquiring minds want to know. I'm curious on why you couldn't save the others. It seems I wasn't the only one that failed."

Bella stood away from her father, her hands clenched into fists as she spoke. "I may not remember what happened to me, but it changed me. I can see through their eyes."

"What the fuck?" Edward hissed as the line suddenly went silent. Garrett checked the phone and confirmed that the killer had ended the call. He immediately pulled out his own cell phone and walked out of the room, talking quickly to someone. Charlie looked as pale as Bella did, falling back onto the couch with shock clear in his eyes.

"Fuck, I shouldn't have done that, but he was pissing me off." Bella rubbed her hands over her face, furiously wiping away her tears. "I'll answer all your questions," she said to Edward, watching him closely. "But first, I need something stronger to drink if I'm supposed to get through this shit."

Edward followed her into the kitchen with a hundred questions on his tongue, grabbing a few tumblers from a cabinet. She moved stiffly toward another and pulled out some good, hard liquor. Though he needed a clear head, he knew that whatever Bella had to tell him, would change everything


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

* * *

After a declining a drink, Garrett had taken over one of the bedrooms of the large cabin, making calls about the case. While Charlie did the same, his daughter sat across from Edward, neither of them looking away from the other.

Edward broke the silence first. "Tell me what's going on, Bella."

She sighed, her eyes closing briefly, taking a deep breath. "I woke up from my coma while Rosalie was about to die."

"What does that mean?"

"For some reason, I can literally see through his victim's eyes. I dreamed about it, right before she was buried alive. When I woke up for the first time in weeks, I was hysterical and they had to sedate me almost immediately. I was so confused and not making any sense. My voice was so hoarse after weeks of not using it, that they had no choice. I was hurting myself when I tried to get out of bed."

"Fuck. Are you trying to tell me you saw what happened to Rosie?"

She nodded, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. Edward looked away from her, unable to look at her that way. He'd ask her to stop if he did and he couldn't. Not if he wanted answers.

"You've seen them all haven't you?" he asked, turning to face her once again. The moment he'd taken to gather himself and strengthen his resolve, hadn't helped. She looked small and fragile where she sat. She nodded, her shoulders shaking as her hands fidgeted in her lap. "Bella, don't spare my feelings, I need to know," he said gruffly. "Do you _see _them when they're being kidnapped?"

The killer took all the victims at different times of the day or night. The authorities hadn't been able to determine a pattern, until Charlie had pointed it out. Each victim was on an errand that they ran routinely every week. That meant the killer was likely watching them for weeks, and that meant that he didn't pick victims randomly. The only other similarity was that each victim had at one point in time, attended a school in the North Pacific School District. One had only attended an elementary school for three months before she transferred to Oregon.

Despite the patterns, it wasn't enough to help figure out who was next.

"Yes, but not until he's close, that's when I start to see through their eyes. And not only when I'm asleep," she whispered, her small hand lifting to wipe away at her tears. "There was one night that I fought my sleep, too afraid of the dreams, but it hadn't worked. I slipped into some kind of trance. They can barely reach me when I'm in one. It's as if I'm with them until right before they pass out from whatever drug he gives and snap out of it for a while. I fall back into it once they wake up in the box and continue watching until they stop breathing." She grasped her throat, closing her eyes briefly. It was as if just talking about it put her right back in those dreams. "But when I dreamed about you, I was able to pull myself out of the trance."

Edward realized something else. "You're the anonymous tip when they're kidnapped."

She nodded again, bunching up some of her hair and rubbing at her scalp before releasing it. It seemed to help diminish some of the tension around her eyes.

"When they're taken, the images come really fast. It's hard to focus. I only get to see snippets, and their eyes are usually covered quickly since they're drugged. Sometimes they wake up on the way to where he buries them and sometimes not until they're in the box." She looked thoughtful for a moment, but shook her head. "Most of the time I don't even know who they are, even if I've seen their face after I wake up. That's why it takes too long to find them, because I didn't have enough information to know who they were."

"If you were the first he'd taken and all the other victims share your coloring and hair, does that mean he's copying his own crime?"

Garrett walked into the room, Charlie right behind him. "That's something the profiler suggested," the agent offered, taking a seat on the couch across from Edward. "She had gotten away, she hadn't died in the box as he intended. Even though he believed she was dead, or in this case, in a vegetative state, he'd seen it as a failure. So he does it over and over again to prove himself in a way. The profiler also indicated that there's probably some significance to his method."

Edward tried to wrap his mind around everything. The supernatural aspect of it was hard to believe. "Bella's kidnapping and attempted murder was never revealed, besides the few that know she was a victim and is alive and well, who does he have to prove himself to?" he asked, watching as Charlie poured himself a drink and taking a seat by Garrett.

"That's a damn good question, son," Charlie murmured, pouring himself another. "A damn good one. Is he doing it to prove to himself or is there someone out there that he's trying to prove himself to, either way, he's still fucking crazy."

"Dad!" Bella said, rolling her eyes and picking up the bottle despite Edward and Charlie's protests. She walked into the kitchen and placed it back in the cabinet. She returned to glare at them and sat down beside Edward. "I keep the liquor around when I want a quick way to warm up and for Billy when he visits. It's not for you to all get drunk on a night like tonight."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Edward asked, rubbing at his temple. His empty stomach had made the liquor go to his head too fast.

"It means that _he_ could be out there waiting for the perfect opportunity to get to me…to you," she stated firmly, looking at Edward with angry, whiskey gold eyes.

There was the feisty Bella that never allowed anyone to have the last word when she had to make a point or if she was angry.

"He'd be stupid to come here, now," Edward said, and then his expression turned grave. "Shit. He may know where you are now. We all could've led him here."

"I don't think so, why call? If so, what's done is done. Now, instead of getting drunk, why don't you all put your heads together? Come up with a way to keep me and Edward safe." She bit her lip, the fire in her rant deflating as she fell back against the cushion. "Dad, maybe it's time to announce that you found he had another victim."

Edward wasn't sure he liked that idea.

"That might aggravate him," her father said. "The idea he's failed not only once with you and now with Edward, might send him over the edge more than he already seems to be. Having us announce that failure could make him worse."

"It might cause him to make a mistake," Edward pointed out. Damn, he hated using someone like Bella as bait. Something had been bothering him for hours though, so he asked. "How the hell did he know I was going there anyway?"

Garrett cleared his throat. "That's what I wanted to ask you when you were up for questioning." Edward gestured to get on with it. "You said you wanted to check out the area that Rosalie died right? That's why you were out there."

"Yeah, I went on a hunch and followed a lead."

"What lead?"

Edward shrugged. He had to tell them the truth if they wanted to catch the killer. "I paid the bug guy you hired, Alec Davis, to identify the species of the bugs on their bodies and the scene, to give me copies of his reports on the cases. He said that one of the beetles found at all the other burial sites matched those indigenous to where Rosalie died. It was not something you'd find in an abandoned warehouse, like the one where he buried Lauren Mallory. They were put there on purpose."

"There's something you should know. We think that Rosalie died within the area of where Bella might have been buried, too," Charlie offered. "She was found a few miles from there."

"We'll get to that," Garrett said. Edward wanted to discuss what Charlie said, but it was obvious the agent had something important to say. "Edward, we still haven't gotten the report from Mr. Davis."

"Maybe he gave it to me first before he hand—"

"Not possible, Mr. Davis was found at home unconscious. He seemed to have been a victim of a home invasion the day before yesterday."

"What the fuck?" Edward asked, wincing at his need to curse. Bella offered him a small wink and thankfully didn't call him on it.

"That can't be a coincidence," Charlie stated, Bella nodding in agreement.

Garrett pulled out a little notebook and pen. "How and when did he contact you?"

"I had left a few messages a week ago, but he was refusing to talk to me. He called me this afternoon," Edward said, looking at his watch. "Make that yesterday afternoon." He slapped a hand on his thigh, clenching it into a tight fist. "Are you trying to tell me that the man I talked to on the phone yesterday was my sister's killer?"

"Maybe," Garrett said, already on his phone. "Write down the numbers he reached you at and if you have the numbers he called from too. I'll see if I can get anything from the phone companies." He dropped the small notepad on the table as he asked to talk to his partner Alistair. "Let's hope the bastard left fingerprints there."

As Garrett left to finish his call, Edward turned his attention to Charlie. His old boss would have more answers. "What's the condition of Mr. Davis?"

"Alec should be okay, but before you ask, he doesn't remember anything. He was hit on the back of the head, giving him a major concussion."

"Why not play the same game with him that he did with the rest of us?" Edward wondered aloud. "Did Bella experience the same trance when he attacked Mr. Davis?"

Charlie shook his head, his eyes dropping down to Edward's side where Bella sat. "I think she only gets them for those he intends to kill."

"Like me." Edward tried to hold back the need to shudder, but it vibrated through his entire body anyway. He would have nightmares about his ordeal, ones he'd have to ignore if he wanted to keep Bella and himself alive. "I hate that you're seeing all of this. It's like you're his victim all over again," he said loud enough for her to hear.

"That's exactly what it's like for her," Charlie said softly. Edward looked toward Bella and found her curled up along his side, feet tucked beneath her backside and her head only an inch away from resting on his shoulder. She was asleep. He grabbed the throw on the back of the couch and covered her.

_She must as tired as I am_, Edward thought. "How is she really doing, Charlie?"

"About as well as you expect a person who seen all these girls and women die. Felt what they felt."

"Damn," Edward hissed, lifting one of Bella's small hands. His dwarfed hers, but they bore similar wounds, cuts, and bruising along the knuckles. He carefully placed it back on her lap. "She tried to dig me out?"

Charlie nodded. "It's the first time she left this cabin since I brought her here," he said, keeping his voice down so his daughter could sleep.

"Why did you allow it?"

"Probably the same reason she couldn't face the world anymore." Charlie looked away from Edward, rubbing his hand roughly over his face. "I was too scared."

"So you kept her caged up."

"I made mistakes," he said, turning back to face Edward. "I realized it and tried to fix it, and get her the help she needed. It wasn't enough. I couldn't get her to leave her house at all. Not without having a panic attack, trust me that shit is horrible to watch. Until tonight that is. She did it to save you."

Something bothered Edward, and it made his hands clench into fists again. "It was dangerous for her to go out there on her own."

The killer could have been there. She could've been his victim again.

"I couldn't stop her. She called me when she was already in her truck."

Edward looked away, dropping his head in his hands. "She could've died out there."

"She said she couldn't have another person's death on her conscience." Charlie sighed. "Edward, please don't blame her for Rosalie. I know that's a lot to ask, but please don't."

"Jesus, Charlie," Edward hissed as quietly as he could, snapping his head up to look at him. "Who said I blamed her? She was in a coma for fuck's sake when that bastard took Rosalie. I know I was pissed earlier, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she can _see _what's happening to the victims. I wouldn't wish what happened to me on my worst enemy. Well, maybe the killer, but for her to go through that over and over, fuck, no wonder she's skittish and won't leave her house. She knows exactly what's out there. That he's out there waiting for her."

For a couple of minutes, neither said a word. Charlie eventually broke the silence. "Thanks for understanding and not blaming her."

Edward nodded, breathing deeply, feeling better now that he had made some things clear. "Tell me how bad it gets for her?"

Charlie's shoulders shook, and he barely managed to hold in a sob. He turned away for a moment before he could answer. "She stopped breathing once, if it hadn't been for Billy, that comes to check on her all the time and spends the night, she probably would've died."

"Damn."

"I have one more thing to ask you," Charlie said, looking at his daughter again.

"What is it?"

"Stay alive, don't let what she did to save you be for nothing."

"I'll see what I can do."

Bella suddenly whimpered and started to breath hard, she was having a nightmare. Edward automatically reached for her. He ran a hand down her back, murmuring her name softly until she tucked herself against his side again. Once she quieted, Edward returned his attention on Charlie.

"Do you want me to carry her to her bedroom?" he asked him.

"Please," Charlie said. He watched as Edward carefully pulled Bella into his arms, continuing to whisper to her until she settled her head on his shoulder. As he walked down the hall, when he pointed out which room was hers, he wondered if he could get Edward to stay.

His daughter had nightmares for weeks after the killer claimed another victim. It was the first time anyone had been able to calm his daughter down with a simple touch and a few words.

Charlie _had_ to convince him to stay.

Edward looked around Bella's bedroom. The décor was in warm colors of blue, green, and brown. It smelled like her. It was feminine and what he could only describe as delicate. The same way he saw her as she slept. He managed to tuck her into bed easily, taking a moment to move her hair away from her face. His thumb gently smoothed the crease between her brows, looking more peaceful with every stroke.

He didn't linger, he had to get away for a bit and needed to think.

In the living room, he didn't bother to look at either of the men. "I need a smoke," he said, walking past them. Charlie and Garrett had their heads together, whispering. "I'm going to grab my overnight bag, too. I'll take the couch."

The door closed behind him, his hand automatically reaching for his only vice.

Charlie turned to look at Garrett as the front door closed. "That was easy."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Edward dropped the spent cigarette on the ground, effectively smothering it with his boot. He was still pissed off about his other shoes. It had taken years to get them to the right comfortable fit, but now they were fucking evidence. It was stupid to think of such trivial shit, but it was what he did when his head was too full and he didn't want to think too much.

He pulled out another cigarette from the pack in his jacket pocket and lit up. Drawing in a deep breath, he checked his piece as he let smoke curl out from his mouth. His favorite gun and knife that he had on him when he went out were gone. They didn't find them at the scene. The idea that the bastard had his hands on his things pissed him off.

It scared him a bit, too. He was afraid the asshole would kill someone with them.

He shook his head, realizing that it would go against everything. It would change the killer's MO and in the seven years since it all started, the killer hadn't changed it. He deviated slightly with Rosalie since she had blonde hair instead of brown, but she had attended a school in the same district as the others and died in the same way as all the rest.

Bella and Rosalie had several friends in common in high school, and the killer could've chosen any one of them as his next target, to draw Bella out. Why had he chosen Rosalie? Was it because Bella and Rosalie were best friends or because who Rosalie was related to? The fact that Edward had made a name for himself shortly before her death couldn't be the reason.

_Right?_

He'd have to look into the possibility, since he had made plenty of enemies in Seattle.

Then there was Bella, the killer's first victim. The only one that survived until Edward had. Why had the killer chosen her? Was it because she was the daughter of a cop? A closer look at the files was in order, since that could be another connection between all the victims. If Charlie and Garrett thought he'd sit by while they did all the grunt work, they were in for a rude awakening. He'd have his hands on all the files, including Bella's soon. There was no way he'd sit on the sidelines anymore.

Bella, he didn't know what to make of her anymore. The horrors she'd been through, he could only imagine all too well. It was no wonder that her mind had refused to recall the memories of _her _ordeal. Instead, she was a witness to all the victims' deaths.

That shit was causing her physical and psychological pain.

There were too many scenarios in his head. All centered on Bella and the killer. Would things have been different if they disclosed the news about Bella after they found her? With no memory and in a coma, he doubted it would've made much difference. They had no idea how long she'd been walking when someone found her. Charlie didn't even know if the killer had buried her. If she had been, how had she dug herself out? He had pounded his fists and arms against the pine the best he could and didn't make a damn dent.

He also remembered that Rosalie said that Bella was a year younger, because she skipped a grade, making him nine years older. She was too smart for her own good and that meant she had been barely seventeen when it happened.

How did she get out alive by herself?

Memories and images haunted Edward daily since Rosalie's murder. The "_what ifs" _would always replay events differently, especially around Rosalie's birthday or holidays. Now there were twice as many things to consider. With all the new information, the secrets that were held, and what he'd gone through. What his sister had gone through.

"Christ," he hissed, his fingers plowing through his hair. The cigarette shook, hanging precariously from his lips. He needed to focus on something else before he lost his fucking mind.

Edward did a quick search around the house, getting a layout of the land. The cabin was surround by lush forest, but the tree line was several hundred yards away. The area between the house and the forest was almost flat, with no other structures or any place a killer could lurk without the camera's picking him up. It wasn't natural, and it was obvious they cleared away any trees. The few that dotted the landscape, trimmed in such a way that it wouldn't hide anyone among the branches either. Each one lit up like Christmas and most held some kind of camera. He detected several motion sensors around the house that likely tripped the alarm if someone came too close.

He'd have to test their sensitivity soon.

After he was done, he grabbed the bag his stepmother Esme had packed for him before taking it to the hospital. His hand hurt like a bitch, but it was still a couple more hours before he could pop a few pills again. He'd rather tolerate the pain; risking grogginess while he was with Bella, with the killer on the prowl would not be a good idea.

It was a good thing he was ambidextrous, or else he'd be useless with a hurt right hand. He worked hard over the years to perfect his aim with his left hand and it seemed he'd put it to good use. His imagination would put a bullseye right between the killer's eyes.

Garrett met him on the porch, locking the car with his alarm. "I'm staying on the couch. Charlie said you could take the office. There's a spare bed in there."

Edward nodded and walked past him to get inside. "I want the files on _all _the cases by tomorrow afternoon."

"I'll see what I can do," Garrett said, closing the door behind him. "There's a problem though. No one else knows about this place besides us, and the Blacks, and I'd like to keep it that way, so I'll have to leave in the morning. And Charlie has to make appearances."

"Don't trust your own people?"

"This guy is good with computers and electronics. I'm not risking him listening in on my conversations with my partner or superiors. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised that he could hack his way into our systems."

If he could do that, then Bella's security system might not be good enough, Edward realized. "Do you think he followed us here?"

Garrett shrugged. "I don't think I was followed, I always keep on an eye out for that when I come here. Charlie would've done the same. Getting Bella's cell phone number wouldn't have been hard. She called her father from it and if he accessed his phone records, he'd find the number. I'm going to have to ask you to remove the battery out of your cell phone until we can get new, untraceable ones. I'll leave mine for now."

Edward nodded and tossed him his phone. "That's fine. Get me those files."

"Are you sure you want to see them?"

They both knew what Garrett was referring to, the eerie and horrific pictures of his dead sister and all the other women. "I saw some of them," he answered. It was best Garrett knew the truth.

"Which was the reason you were dismissed," Garrett stated.

"Pretty much, I had become obsessed with finding the killer. Even though I wasn't allowed to be a part of the investigation team, I did steal a peek or two at the files."

"When I first started on this case, I thought I could handle it. Those pictures, the hell they must have gone through, have given me nightmares."

"I know he never sexually assaulted his victims, for me it made it a little easier. But yeah, seeing the pictures of Rosalie in that fucking box was something I'll never forget."

_Never_, Edward thought. Sometimes, when it was too quiet he remembered them. Her pale blue eyes, much like their father's, stared blankly from the pictures. Her blonde hair covered in leaves and dirt, the same condition as her clothes. Then there were the pictures of her bloodied and broken nails from her attempt to claw her way out of her coffin. They reminded him of his promise to his mother, to find Rosalie's killer.

He never broke a promise.

"For what it's worth, I'm doing everything I can to find her killer," Garrett stated. The conviction in his voice made the statement ring true. Edward nodded. "I need you to keep a level head from now on. It kept you alive down there and it will up here."

"I'm not sure what came over me when I was in the box," Edward whispered, shaking his head. "I was beating at the top, screaming, so damn angry at myself for failing. Suddenly I remembered that I had to stop. That I had to control myself and calm down if I wanted to survive." There was something else, too. A wave a calm he never felt before.

At the precise moment, Edward's stomach growled out in hunger, making him groan aloud, too. Garrett chuckled and told him to grab something to eat. "There's plenty of stuff for sandwiches. I'll take first watch."

"I'll relieve you in a few hours," Edward said as he walked toward the kitchen.

"Make if four, I'm pretty sure everyone will be sleeping in late anyway."

**~oOo~**

Bella wasn't sleeping. She was staring at the ceiling and trying not to see bloodied and battered wood instead of the smooth cream painted surface. Every time she closed her eyes, she relived those few moments where Edward had struggled against his own sanity and fears before he could calm down.

Even though she was just as scared too, she did her best to calm him. Bella understood, or at least she thought she did.

She wasn't merely seeing through their eyes.

She felt what they felt.

She saw what they saw.

She felt their fears as if they were her own.

When they were unconscious, she was still aware. It was why she knew exactly where to find where he buried them. Once they found the spot on the road where the killer turned off, she knew exactly how many steps to take and in what direction.

She researched possible topics about what was happening to her. Read countless words of speculation and supposed true accounts of similar occurrences on the internet. None described it exactly how she felt when she slipped into a trance.

Every time it happened, she was with them in that box, buried not only beneath the dirt, but in their minds. The few brief moments she half woke up long enough to give her father details was always too short. The trance would pull her back in at the cusp of their terror, suffering along with them. She struggled as much as they did, trying to get out.

There was one time that she almost died. She feared that next time, if the victim died and she remained inside her mind, she would die, too. She probably wouldn't have a choice. Not unless she got control, and that required practice.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

It was ten in the following morning, Edward's watch over Bella and the others. He checked the cameras as per instructions from Garrett, using the living room connection. Charlie was still snoring away in one of the rooms, and Garrett had knocked out in the office/guest room. Bella had yet to make an appearance, but he knew she was awake. She had been the last two times he checked on her, though she was pretending.

She didn't fool him for a moment.

As the pan sizzled, he lowered the flame slightly and poured some batter into the middle. He heard the soft footfalls behind him, but made no move to acknowledge her. He was already too aware of her as it was.

"Morning," she grumbled, passing him and walking straight to the cabinet with mugs inside as if she was on autopilot. With her back turned as she made her coffee, he looked at her then, trying to hide his smile.

She had never been a morning person when she was younger. She was disheveled, appeared to have rolled out of bed. Her hair was a wild mess of curls and flyaways, falling just short of the small of her back. She had changed into a pair of grey cut off sweats that almost reached her knees and an old, battered shirt two sizes too big.

He turned back to the stove, once again realizing he was too aware of little Bellie. "You hungry?" he asked, flipping the pancake.

"Sure, but Edward, you didn't have to make breakfast," she said. He looked at her again and found her pouting. "I was going to make omelets and bacon."

"You still can make some bacon while I make pancakes."

She looked as if she was debating, but eventually nodded. "I'll be right back." Without another look back, she ran toward her bedroom, calling out behind her, "I gotta brush my teeth and hair."

Edward chuckled and grabbed some bacon from the fridge and another skillet. By the time she returned, he was already halfway through the batter mix.

Bella hummed and grabbed a pancake from the stack by the stove, and started to munch on it while she gathered some juice and maple syrup. She went to work beside Edward, testing the pan and laying several strips of bacon in it.

"Something smells good," she said softly, humming again. "Did you put something other than vanilla in the pancakes?"

"I put in some cinnamon and nutmeg."

"They're good." She grabbed a stack of plates and some silverware. "Everybody is starting to stir," she explained when Edward's eyebrow rose. He nodded and continued, reminding her about the bacon. She ran over, flipping the thick slices and smiled up at him.

"I used to do this Rosalie every Saturday when you were away at school," she said, shrugging and quickly looking away. "She said that you two did this all the time when you were home."

Edward nodded, once again at a loss for words. He always wondered if Rosalie carried on their Saturday morning traditions after he moved away for college. It was obvious that she loved Bella enough to have Bella join her and continue in his place.

He wished he could have one more Saturday with Rosalie.

Edward and Bella finished cooking as Garrett and Charlie trickled in, both answering with grunts until they had their first cup of coffee. They all sat together at the small table, usually meant for two, silently eating. Bella rolled her eyes at the stilted conversations about the weather and the latest on sports.

Edward watched Bella closely all through making and eating breakfast. He looked for signs of stress, because of the burden she carried. Though she was as quiet as the others were, she at least tried to carry on a conversation. Everyone was still reeling over recent events and possibly of what would happen next. The future was uncertain with a very real threat on someone they all cared for, but they'd do everything they could to keep her safe.

Bella gathered her plate and coffee, walking toward the kitchen when she was done. Edward had returned his attention back on his plate when he heard her mug and plate fall, shattering on the wood floor. He whipped his head around, his eyes widening at the sight of her.

She almost looked as if invisible strings held her up. Her eyes wide and blank and she was staring past everything and everyone. Her arms spread wide, balancing only on the tips of her toes. A puppet in a supernatural show, only she didn't control the strings.

"Shit! Grab her," Charlie hissed and jumped to his feet, sending his chair to the floor.

Edward reached Bella first. She crumbled into his arms, as he fell to his knees to capture her. Her almost ice-cold skin had him hissing at the contact. "What the fuck is going on?"

"She's under a trance," Charlie replied, snapping his fingers at Garrett. "Get the sketch pad and pencil."

"Bella," Edward said, shaking her slightly. Her body was rigid in his arms. He maneuvered her into a more comfortable position, resting the back of her head in the crook of his elbow. "Bella!" Her brown eyes appeared glazed, staring up much like the pictures of the women the killer had buried alive. Her pupils were only tiny pinpricks amongst the color. "Bella!"

"It's no use," Charlie said gravely. "The bastard has taken someone else." Garrett knelt beside them, a large sketchpad and charcoal pencil in his hands. "She usually doesn't snap out of it completely and can sometimes come back long enough to give us something to work with."

Suddenly, Bella shot up, sitting up straight. Her body trembled as she screamed for several seconds. She clutched one of her wrists and then other, before her hand automatically reached out for the pencil Garrett held out for her. Her strokes were wild, dancing across the blank page. Yet, her eyes remained unfocused as she drew.

"He wanted me to see through his eyes," she said, choking and sobbing. "He wanted me to see through another victim's eyes, his eyes. His eyes"

It lasted far too long for Edward's tastes. What felt like hours of her holding her trembling form in his arms, were mere minutes. Her eyes rolled back, fainting, her whole body going limp in Edward's arms. The pencil clattered on the floor. "Bella?" he whispered, shaking her gently.

"This isn't like the others," Charlie said, rubbing a hand over his face. His gaze focused on the page.

Garrett held up the drawing for Edward to see. It was a set of hands, one holding a stained, old shaving blade and the other covered in something, coming from the wrist. Even though the drawing wasn't in red, Edward knew the stains on the blade represented blood. In the palm of that hand, it pooled and dripped off the page.

He asked, "What the fuck does this mean?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

Charlie refused to leave while his daughter remained unconscious, or asleep, as Alice, her doctor examined her. He made the call seconds after she collapsed, though it surprised Edward that someone else knew about Bella's episodes, especially a doctor.

Bella had been unconscious and eerily still since the ordeal. Edward stood beside the pint sized, raven-haired woman, assessing her abilities. She looked much too young to be a doctor. She was a female equivalent of Doogie Howser, only shorter. He barely recognized her. It had been years since he'd seen her.

"When will she wake up?" Edward asked as he leaned his shoulder against the wall near the bed with his arms crossed over his chest.

"When her body and mind tell her to," Alice stated as she started to put her things away in an honest to God old-fashioned medical bag. "And you will not attempt to wake her up before then."

Edward's eyebrows arched at the no nonsense tone of the tiny woman. She stood up to him as if he wasn't glowering at her. "She has information we need," he stated in a matching tone.

"Well, she can't give it to you if she's damn tired." Alice turned away from the formidable Edward, smiling at Bella's father. "She's fine, Charlie. She needs a while to recover from the ordeal. I'll show myself out."

"I wanted to be sure, thank you, Alice." Charlie stated as Garrett followed the doctor out of the room, ready to take her back home. "Sorry, she's the only other person that knows about this place."

Edward rolled his eyes, but kept his voice low for Bella's sake. "Is she always so annoying?"

"She's very protective of Bella since Rosalie died."

"I haven't seen her or her brother in years. How is Emmett?" Alice was Emmett's little sister, and if he remembered correctly she was about Bella and Rosalie's age back in high school.

"As well as you expect from someone who thinks he lost the love his life."

Edward rolled his eyes again, trying to ignore the pang of guilt. He wasn't exactly nice to Emmett when he figured out he was in love with Rosalie back in the day.

"Heard he moved all the way across the country," Edward said, turning his attention away from Charlie.

"New York."

Edward grunted. "That's about as far away as you can get from home."

"And the place Rosalie dreamed to go one day."

She had wanted that, dreamed and talked about it every time Edward visited, until she disappeared.

"You know an awful lot about my sister and her friends."

"Bella likes to keep her memory alive. I think it makes her feel less guilty. Alice keeps her up to date on her old friends." Charlie shrugged and gestured toward the door.

Edward shook his head. "I'm staying here."

"She's tired." It seemed that Alice wasn't the only one protective of Bella, though he expected nothing less from Charlie.

"I won't wake her up, but I'm keeping an eye on her," Edward stated firmly. He wasn't that much of an asshole, though many would argue.

"All right," Charlie said, nodding. "Alice says the chances of someone surviving that wound in the picture are actually pretty good." They stilled as Bella rolled to her side, away from their voices, whimpering. Edward and Charlie moved toward the door, walking into the hallway to allow her to sleep.

Edward left the door partially opened so he could still see her. "If that's the case, he's one sick bastard. Did he do it to himself or to someone else?"

Charlie hummed, before replying. "She said 'his eyes' more than once."

That could mean he'd done it to himself. "What kind of person are we dealing with? Why did he choose her in the first place? Has he become so fixated on her that he intends to kill those that look like her until he gets his hands on the real thing?"

Charlie's face flushed as his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "That will never happen."

"I agree. It won't. I won't let it happen, but we need answers."

"Maybe we can get some once she gets up," Charlie said softly. "She sometimes gets intimate details from these episodes, like if she really is in their heads."

Edward cleared his throat and looked away. He had a feeling she had been in his mind. Ever since she described her episodes and seeing one happen in person, the possibility sounded plausible. From a supernatural standpoint at least, though science and most people would laugh at them for even considering it. Another thing he noticed was that his mind was clearer, not as dark. It was hard to explain, even to himself.

"Yeah, let's hope."

Charlie scratched at the back of his neck. "Honestly, for her to have been in his head scares the hell out of me."

It scared Edward, too. In his line of work, he often had to think like a killer or suspect. It allowed him to figure out their next move, it was something he was good at, but the idea of Bella being inside the mind of a killer did not sit well with him.

"Edward!"

Charlie's eyes widened as Bella screamed from her bedroom. Edward ran inside and found her thrashing in the bed, her lavender sheets twisted at her feet. A nightmare was plaguing her once again, and he reached for her. He held her close as she shuddered and clutched to his chest.

"H-he…oh my God," she cried, gasping for breath. "You need to look for c-cops and authorities of any k-kind in the victims of their known friends and family." She shivered violently in Edward's grasp. "Look for a cover up, too, from about twenty to thirty-five years ago."

"You got that much from that brief time in his head?" Charlie asked from where he sat, on the other side of the bed. She nodded, tightening her grip on Edward's shirt.

"What kind of cover up?" Edward asked as he smoothed a hand down her back. She relaxed a little more.

"It's all disjointed, but he was a child, maybe. It may be multiple incidents. He has a thing against authority figures like cops, lawyers, and teachers."

"All the victims including Bella and Rosalie came from the same school district. Maybe he attended a school in it, too." Charlie offered to Edward. "And both of them had cops in their families. We can go through the rest of the victim files, see if any them do, too."

Edward nodded. It was a lead, and the same one he had the night before. He looked down at Bella, her eyes drooping again. "Hey, Bellie," he said firmly, shaking her slightly. "I need you to tell us, is he dead?" She shook her head, trying to move away. "No, Bella. I know you're tired, baby, but I need you to answer. Did he really try to kill himself or was it another victim?"

"His eyes," she grumbled, fighting against Edward and wanting desperately to sleep again. "It was him."

Edward allowed her to fall back on the bed, watching as she curled around her pillow. "She can sleep now," he said to Charlie, tucking a blanket around her. "I think we got everything we can from her today."

Charlie nodded and led the way out of the room. They called Garrett, who left with Alice, to give him the information they learned from Bella and he agreed that it would be worth looking into. He only hoped the school records were up to date and in a computer system, or else they'd have to go through them the old-fashioned way.

~oOo~

An hour passed since the others departed to grab the files Edward required and check in with work. They needed more supplies if all of them planned to stay with Bella. Edward didn't like the idea of so many coming and going. If the killer hadn't followed one of them the first time, he could if he caught Garrett or Charlie in the city.

Alone with nothing to do, Edward explored the cabin. It was a traditional log cabin, with wood beams and high vaulted ceilings throughout. The fireplace in the living room was large enough for him to walk inside if he needed to, and the mantle looked as old as the trees that surrounded the perimeter of the cabin. He familiarized himself with the security system.

A few hours passed when he checked on Bella again. "Hey, sleepyhead," he said, finding her sitting on the side of the bed. Her legs dangled, her toes not even skimming the floor. She was small, petite. "Everyone left."

"I figured," she yawned, finally meeting his gaze. There was evidence of her crying on her cheeks and the redness around her eyes. "He's going to keep playing with me now, isn't he? I shouldn't have said anything. What is wrong with me?"

Edward walked further into the room, taking a seat beside her. "Bella, you were upset and you lashed out. Anyone is entitled to do that under your circumstances. Yes, it was best for him not to know that you can see through the eyes of his victims. There is no going back now. I'll be honest with you. Now that he knows what you're capable of, I have no idea what he'll do. But I will promise you he will not come near you again."

Edward meant it, and he would not fail this time.

She nodded, whispering, "Thank you. I'm sorry that I lost it there for a bit."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, a natural thing to do, though to him it felt different from when they were younger.

"If that's your worst, my stay here should be a breeze," he said in a playful tone.

She leaned further against his side. "You've seen my worst, Edward. I'm pretty sure you and your buddy, Jasper, took a while to regrow your hair."

Edward's head tipped back as he laughed. "I knew that was you!"

It was during one of his visits back home for Christmas, that he made quite a scene at a party where he found his little sister. He found her and Bella, along with Emmett, dancing the night away. Bella refused to leave with him since he was not the boss of her—her words—so he threw her over his shoulder and carried her out. She screamed all the way to the car alerting neighbors and having the police show up minutes after they left. Including her father and that earned her a punishment of three months for that. Though he didn't catch her there, some girl at the party ratted her out.

A week later, Edward and Jasper woke up groggily to shaved armpits and no eyebrows. Jasper suffered since he had helped pick the girls up at the party. Rosalie had stated that because of what happened none of the boys from school would ask Bella out anymore, so she wasn't happy with him. Rosalie never had admitted that Bella drugged and shaved him.

"That was a total over reaction."

"I had no date to my prom thanks to you," she grumbled.

It took a moment for Edward to come to another realization. His smile fell, his laughter ending abruptly.

"Looks like you're figuring it out now," she whispered, rubbing her face harshly and sighing. She moved enough to put more than an inch of space between them. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

"You were taken that summer." Just like his sister.

Other things fell into place, the fact that she'd been hiding ever since, how she was so skittish when he first arrived. Suddenly, sitting beside her on the bed, made Edward aware of how close she was to him.

"Yup, I haven't had sex in seven years." Edward cleared his throat, standing and trying to think of something to say. She looked thoughtful for a moment, her brow furrowed. "Then again, since I never had sex, I have no idea what I've been missing."

This was not a safe topic of conversation. Edward himself hadn't had time to seek a warm body in months, hell, probably a year. He spent most of it trying to get his PI and security company up and running.

Her scent filled the room, filling his head with dangerous images. Looking at Bella now, with her soft, flushed skin, beautiful long legs in cutoffs, he remembered of how aware of her he was since he arrived. Had been since the day they met. He hadn't allowed himself to think of her like that then, not really. As she sat looking up at him with soft brown eyes and a timid smile, he knew it wouldn't be a good idea for that to change.

However, his body was not fucking cooperating. He was hard. _Fuck. _


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

"Sit down, you look like you're going to have a coronary," Bella stated, looking up at Edward in confusion. There she was with soft brown eyes, rimmed red from crying, and he was thinking with his dick.

"I'm going to go—" Edward pointed at the door, clearing his throat when one of Bella's eyebrows arched high, "and make you a snack or something to eat. You've got to be hungry, right?"

Some confusion, and if Edward wasn't wrong, a little hurt filled her eyes. The look disappeared fast. "Oh. Yeah, I could eat."

"What would you like?" _Just get out of the room. Before you offer to hold or kiss her._

"Whatever," she said, dark curls falling along her shoulder. The shirt she wore slipped lower on her shoulder, displaying her collarbone, and more of her skin. The kind that made a man's mouth water and his teeth itch to nibble on and taste. Despite the fact that his eyes were on that skin, it brought his attention to the shirt she wore. It looked oddly familiar, but when he focused on it, Bella was quick to cover it.

"I've seen that shirt before," Edward said. If he was right, he had to the leave the room immediately.

"It's your old football jersey," she said quietly, shrugging. Color stained her cheeks a soft pink. It was a shade lighter than her lips.

_Watch it, Cullen. Stop staring at her. You're probably scaring her. _He was thankful that she wasn't looking at him, taking a second to adjust himself by shifting his stance.

"How did you get a hold of it?"

What was wrong with him? Who cared? Fuck, he did and he wanted to know. _Did you steal it, Bellie?_

Her eyes widened as if she hoped he wouldn't ask. "I um, unexpectedly spent the night once, and Rose grabbed the first thing out of the dryer for me to wear. I sort of just forgot to give it back."

"And you stayed with it all this time?"

"I like the color?" she tried to lie and failed. She flushed further. Unbidden, Edward gazed further down and saw the effect of her blushing on her chest.

_Jesus, _he thought. _Get out of the room now!_

"All right, you stay in bed while I get something for you to eat," he said quickly, making his way out of the room. "I'll heat up some tomato soup for you," he added once he was out in the hallway.

Edward couldn't get away fast enough. Then again, Bella never did what someone told her to do.

He heard her follow him down the hall and into the kitchen, taking a seat at the island. Wrapped in her blanket, she looked especially warm and cozy with her hair a bed-tumbled mess. He looked away before her gaze rose from the counter.

"Did you remember something else?" he asked, removing some cheese slices from the fridge. Some grilled cheese sounded good to him, and cooking would be a healthy distraction from looking at Bella.

"Not much," she stated and he heard the "thwack" of something hitting the counter. He turned to look, trying not to laugh. She thumped her forehead a few times, though not hard. "Ugh, I wish I could make sense of it. The images and memories are all over the place in my head. His mind compartmentalizes things so much differently than others."

"Do you really go in their minds when you slip into a trance like earlier?"

"It's hard to explain. You've heard of astral-projection, right?"

As he worked, he remembered some reading he'd done as a kid. At the time, he was into sci-fi and the supernatural, reading everything he could get his hands on. The genre changed once he read his first crime drama. "That's sort of like an out of body experience, isn't it?"

"Yeah, your spirit or maybe your mind leaves your body and you can see what's going on around you."

"But it's never been proven," Edward stated, shrugging at her questioning look. "But there have been accounts where patients explain in detail how people worked to resuscitate him or her. That's about all I know about the subject." She looked pleased that he knew a little about the phenomenon.

"Well, think of what happens to me like that. A part of me leaves my body, but instead of sticking around, my mind goes somewhere, into another mind, body, whatever. I'm pulled for some reason toward _his_ victims."

He liked that she spoke with her hands, waving them around as she talked animatedly. It was far better than the scared woman she was when he arrived.

"Do you think they were aware you were with them?" he asked as he turned back to the stove. In a way, he feared the answer. Had she seen how unhappy he was? How lonely? How a part of him was ready to die?

Bella sighed and Edward had to look at her, hoping he could read her. She was always expressive. Her brow was furrowed, the tiny crease between her eyebrows deepened as she opened and closed her mouth twice before she asked, "Were you?"

Edward turned away again. "There was a moment of clarity, where I thought 'this is what he wants. If I can calm down, maybe someone can reach me in time.' I did doubt my own thoughts, but they weren't mine were they?"

"That's what I remember trying to tell you before I managed to pull myself out." He looked over his shoulder and saw her rest her cheek on the counter, her gaze looking out a nearby window. "At first, after I woke up from my coma I thought I was having nightmares after Dad told me about what happened to Rosalie, but they were memories. It wasn't until the second…I mean the third victim that I realized they weren't dreams."

"Did _she_ know you were there?"

Edward heard her sob, and the sound broke his heart. He pulled the pan away from the heat and turned off the flame, and was at her side in three strides. Pulling her into his arms, she sighed deeply against his chest.

"In the end, as she struggled to breathe, she stopped crying long enough to realize that someone was with her," Bella said softly. "I think they all did."

"Fucking hell," Edward groaned, holding her tighter. There was a need to protect, to shield her from the outside world, to keep her safe. It didn't make it right though.

"She knew it was me somehow, even if I couldn't talk directly with her." If it was her first experience, he understood the lack of control. She barely had any now, seven years later.

"You don't have to—"

She cut him off, "I do need to tell you or someone. No one else knows all of it." She looked up at him. He had never seen such incredible eyes. Whiskey brown, darker around the rim with a gold hue around her pupil, emphasized even more by her tears. One of his hands lifted to cradle her face, his thumb brushing away some of her tears. "She loved you all so much, Edward."

"She loved you, too."

"In those minutes or so, she was calm. I think she was at peace because I was with her. She was scared of that though, you know?" He nodded, because that was his sister. Rosalie probably thought Bella was dying or dead when she realized Bella was with her. "I told her I was okay so she asked me to watch over you and your family." After a moment, as more tears fell, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" he asked, lifting her chin up when she tried to look away again.

Tears filled her eyes, and her bottom lip and chin shook before she answered. "I'm sorry that I failed in watching over you."

"Bellie, you did," he said softly, cradling her face in his hands. He was so close, their foreheads touched, a welcoming comfort. "You left your house after you haven't been able to in years. You did it because you _were_ watching over me."

"Maybe," she whispered, her fingers clenching in his shirt. "But I was supposed to make sure you were _all _doing okay. I didn't do a good job of it."

"You were scared," he stated, in the most soothing cadence he could. He wanted to do anything to keep her from hurting anymore. After everything she'd been through and done, it was the least he could do. "And the last time I checked, Charlie is still one of my dad's fishing buddies. He watched over me while I worked with him, made sure I didn't hit the bottle hard."

Edward almost lost that battle, but between his father and Charlie, he stopped looking for answers at the bottom of a bottle. He still drank, more than he should, but it was considerably worse before.

"Yeah," she whispered, sniffling slightly. "But something tells me you still do."

"I'm not going to lie. It was bad for a while. I drank a lot, still do, but I realized that it wasn't the answer. Then my mom died, but I managed not to rely on alcohol all the time. I do have my bad days, or months. The pain, it's still there." He shook his head, trying to find the words. "But waking up today after what happened, it was a little easier. I fucking hate knowing that Rosie went through what I did. I feel better knowing that you were there, in some way, and made it easier for her. You made it easier for me. I'm alive because of you."

"Edward," she whispered, cupping his jaw on each side and thumbing away the evidence of his gratitude and sorrow, represented by a few of his tears. Her hands were soft, warm, and such a balm on his tortured soul. He rested his forehead against hers again, mimicking the rate of her breathing.

"Thank you," he murmured.

She was a full head shorter than his six-foot-three frame, so he leaned down enough to press his lips to each of her cheeks and at the corner of her mouth. Earlier, he was positive a kiss would ruin everything, but now, it was all about comfort. He needed to provide it as equally as he needed to accept the same from her.

She sighed softly at the last touch of his lips on her forehead, her hands falling to his hips. "I won't let anything happen to you," he promised.

"May I help with our food?" she asked, nervously tapping her fingers on his shirt.

"Sure."

Without a word, she walked over the cabinet that held a few bottles of liquor and emptied them in the sink. He cocked an eyebrow in question, but she refused to say a word about it. He wanted to argue, but a part of him knew she was right. He couldn't keep his head if he drank.

Together they made their food, eating at the kitchen island as they talked. Their discussion was nothing of importance, mostly about what they'd been up to in the last several years.

"I was wondering how you can afford to be out here," Edward said, dipping the last bite of his grilled cheese into his soup.

"Dad decided to stay in town and my godfather lived with me until I felt safe enough to be on my own. A web-based business was all I could really do," she stated, shrugging. "After the third murder, I couldn't even get past the driveway. I looked into online classes, took as many as I could and got a certificate, and now I create graphic images and layouts for magazines, book covers, and do some freelance writing. The work is steady, as is the money. I can even choose not to work for a few years if I wanted to."

"Lucky you, I haven't had any time off in years," he said thoughtfully.

Edward noticed that she fell silent, and her eyes kept drifting to his weapon that lay nearby. He would always have it within reach, always, especially while she was under his protection.

Charlie and Garrett hadn't asked him to guard her. It was an unspoken agreement.

"The safety is on and I know how to use it well," he said, startling her.

She nodded, her hands fidgeting a little. "I know."

"Then why does it make you nervous?"

Her eyes lifted from her plate and met his, and something akin to determination filled her gaze. "I want to know how to shoot better."

He sucked in a breath, and though a flat out denial was at the tip of his tongue, a part of him knew she was right. The "what ifs" already filled his mind along with horrific images of him being too late to save her.

"All right," he replied, noticing his answer made her eyes widen. "Are you ready now?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

* * *

Edward watched as a series of emotions flashed across Bella's features and eyes. She swallowed deeply and replied with a quick nod. His hand covered hers on the table, stopping her rapidly tapping fingers.

She blushed at his touch, ducking her head. "Sorry, nervous habit."

He smiled at her, hoping to ease her nerves. "Besides the gun, what's making you anxious?"

She bit her lip, closing her eyes. "I'm scared to go outside." Her words were only a whisper, but the impact was no less significant.

"But you usually go outside, right? You just don't leave the property."

"After a murder," she started, opening her eyes again. "I won't even take a step outside of the house. It takes weeks for me to gather the courage to walk out onto my porch."

The enormity of her words hit him hard. Charlie and Edward had talked about it, but a part of him hadn't thought about her agoraphobia all day, nor its severity. Maybe he hadn't listened close enough. For him, it was easier to think she was in a bubble of safety, and that was all.

She couldn't even walk out on her porch on bad days. Yet, somehow, she walked out of her house, got in her truck, and drove for miles to where the killer buried him. To where the killer could've gotten his hands on her.

"Ow," she hissed, pulling her hand away. "What's wrong?"

Instantly, remorse filled him. He had hurt her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

She shook her head and got up. "I know you didn't. Let's see what we can do, okay?"

Despite her fear of stepping outside, she was willing to try. She floored him, plain and simple. She always had. "All right, but first we need to call Charlie, because if he drives up to the sound of gunshots, he'll probably shoot first and ask questions later."

"Or have a heart attack," she said with a look of concern mixed with fear. "Garrett took my phone."

"Mine, too. But he left me his one that's secured," Edward stated, pulling it out of his back pocket. "You talk to him while I clean up."

"You don't have to clean," she protested, but then smiled after a few seconds. "You're afraid of my dad! You are!" She giggled. The sound seemed to echo through the kitchen. "He's a teddy bear."

Edward didn't even try to deny it. He'd seen Charlie in action during an armed robbery years before, and the man could bring a suspect almost twice his size down with ease. "Maybe, but if you want lessons, I'd feel better that he's okay with it."

"I suggested it earlier to him, so he'll be fine." Edward sighed in relief, making her laugh more. "I can't believe you're scared of him."

"Shut it, Bellie," he playfully grumbled as she called her father. He washed their dishes, listening to her quietly talk. Something about her voice soothed him.

"Are you sure?" she asked her father on the phone. "Yeah, of course, I can set up Edward with my spare laptop. But what are you guys going to do?"

Edward finished and grabbed a kitchen towel to dry his hands. He watched as Bella started to pace, one hand running through her hair, only for it to tangle. With every passing second, she grew more agitated.

"Right now, I think he's recovering from what he did to himself and is probably planning. He won't make a move yet, because he'll want to understand. He has no idea exactly what I saw and felt." She sighed. "Yes, I'm positive it's a man, in his mid to late thirties. He's OCD, Dad. I'm sure of it, maybe that's the reason his thoughts were so compartmentalized. It's going to take me some time to get the memories I'd seen in an order _I _understand. No, I don't have a clear enough image of his face."

"What's going on?" Edward asked her.

"Yeah, he's asking what's going on," she repeated, mouthing an apology. "Okay." She held out the phone to him. "He wants to talk to you."

Edward took the phone, their fingers brushing. Even though he knew he shouldn't, he let them linger. He burned in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. She looked at him with such intensity, as if he was a puzzle she was determined to solve. The moment was lost when they heard Charlie's voice from the tiny speaker of the phone.

"Excuse me," Edward said. The lower quality to his voice had him clearing his throat, slightly disturbed by the change. "Hey, Charlie." Bella turned away, busying herself with cleaning the counters.

"I'm afraid we can't come to you right now," Charlie stated, frustration was clear in his tone. "We were being followed once we reached the city. We lost him, so we have people canvasing the area for the vehicle, not that it matters. He probably already ditched it, if it was him, but I'm not risking the son of bitch following me to where Bella is right now."

"Understood," Edward stated and listened to Charlie's instructions on how to put the house and property in complete lockdown.

"You two should have enough supplies to last you a while, but we'll try to get to you soon."

"Whatever it takes to keep her safe," Edward said firmly. "It's not worth the risk." He looked over his shoulder, thankful that Bella was busy enough with the trash. "Charlie, I won't teach her if that's what you want."

"I'll feel better knowing that if you two have to split up for some reason, that she knows how to protect herself, even kill him if that's the only choice."

Edward wasn't sure how he felt about that. Killing someone could take a piece of your soul. It happened the first time he had to kill in the line of duty and though he wanted Bella safe, it would eventually come back to haunt her. She had enough of that in her life.

However, Edward would feel better if for some reason he was not with her, she could protect herself.

"I should warn you, she might not even make it past the porch today or even tomorrow." Edward watched as Bella disappeared into her room.

He weaved his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I kind of figured that out already."

"Do you know what to do if she has a panic attack?"

"I'll take care of her."

Charlie updated him on the case. Garrett and Alistair worked to get phone records on Alec Davis's line. Another set of agents were looking for matches of local men that served in the military and cross-referencing them with the school district and county records.

Edward ended the call, with a promise of another in a few hours. Bella handed him a tall glass of lemonade, and once again, their fingers lingered for longer than necessary.

"How are you not losing your mind?" he asked.

"Every moment I close my eyes, I'm in nightmare where their memories haunt me. Because of that, I spend every waking moment I can being happy or doing something I love." She shook her head. "Doesn't always work and the fear of what's out there keeps me here, so I make the most of it. It's kept me sane so far."

The tip of her small finger swept over two of his and he barely suppressed a visible shiver of desire. The feeling seemed mutual and he read it in her eyes.

"Stop looking at me like that," he murmured. Mesmerized by her gaze and the curves of her lips, but he managed to step back.

One corner of her mouth rose, giving it a quality of pure mischief. The old Bella he remembered was rising more and more to the surface, combined that with the soft vulnerability of her now, he wouldn't last a damn week before he'd take what he wanted from her.

She stepped closer, cocking her head to one side. "Did you know I had a crush on you when I was younger?"

He had known, and his visits were shorten because of it. Resisting was too hard for him and she was fucking jailbait. His overactive imagination reminded him that she wasn't a kid anymore, and that she seemed willing. However, she was his charge and risking getting involved with her would mess with his head when he needed to focus.

"Damn it," he hissed, he grabbed her elbow and gun from the counter. "Let's get this over with."

"Shoot now, talk later?" she asked in a sweet voice.

He shook his head, leading them outside in the backyard. Depositing her on a porch swing, he went to look for what he needed. In a recycle bin, he found several soda cans and lined them up on a stack of firewood.

Bella hadn't said a word as he set up. "Have you ever done anything like this?" he asked.

He turned and saw her eyes tightly closed, her hands clenched over her thighs. Shit. He was a fucking asshole. He just manhandled her and forced her to go his pace. She sat there, looking pale and short of breath, on the verge of a panic attack.

"Bella, look at me."

Slowly her eyes opened settling on him. He saw the panic but it started slowly to recede. "I'm f-fine. Keep going."

"You sure?"

"Yes." She sat on the porch, waiting and watching as he finished. "B-before all this happened to me, I used to p-paintball, not sure if that counts." She struggled through her words, but seemed to push through the fear.

Fuck, he was proud of her. _Keep her talking._

"Were you any good?"

"Pretty good," she said with a shrug. "I'm not too worried about the aiming. It's more about the kickback. It's probably harder than a paintball gun which would throw off my aim."

She was pouting, and if she'd been any closer, he would've tested the softness of her protruding lip with his thumb. _Focus_, he reminded himself.

"Some of those can be brutal too, but yes, it will be very different."

She lifted a set of earphones from around her neck and held them up. "These are noise reducing," she stated. She must have grabbed them while he spoke with Charlie.

"Bring them with you," he said, waving her over. "Come here."

He watched as she stood at the porch's edge, looking down the three steps before her. Several moments passed, he was ready to stop and go back inside, when suddenly she jumped off the porch and walked over to him.

He smiled a little, thankful and fucking awed by her strength.

It was hard not to look at the seductive sway of her hips, and her long legs clad in slim jeans. The smile she sent his way didn't help matters. The moment she was in front of him, less than a few inches away, he grasped her chin and tipped her head up so there eyes could meet. He needed to set something straight. He read all the clues, and he wouldn't survive if she decided to seduce him or something.

"I need my head on straight while I'm here, Bella. Nothing can happen between us." He shook her face a little to drive in the point and added, "Nothing."

She blinked slowly and replied, "All right."

That was it and for some reason, the easy and calm way she accepted it pissed him off. He was fucking screwed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

Edward watched as Bella looked in deep concentration, holding up the gun he had given her. It was one of his smaller pieces, but he still worried it was too much for her small hands. He tried to focus but that was a little tough, considering he couldn't help but want to touch her. Her feet were shoulder width part and back, and with her chest out as she readied herself.

It took a great deal of control not to skim her back with his hand.

"I have the target in my site," she whispered, automatically supporting her gun hand with the other.

"Go ahead and pull the trigger," he said, standing just behind her.

She startled as he expected, sending the bullet way over her intended target. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. "I think I'm better off with a shotgun." She looked over her shoulder at him, her lips pursed. He wanted to test the softness of them with his teeth, much more dangerous than his thumb.

_She sounds like she could care less that nothing can happen between us and you want her more than ever. Way to go, asshole. What's the saying? You can't help but want what you can't have._

"We'll get to that in a minute," he stated and stood only an inch away from her. Did she feel the breath of his words on her neck? If she did, she didn't give any indication. That of course drove him crazy. "Try again. If you have to run, it'll be easier with one of these in your hands than a damn shotgun."

"If I see him and shoot him with a shotgun, I won't need to run," she quipped, shrugging. He felt the movement of her shoulders against his chest and he knew he was too close. Yet, he didn't step away. If she was unaffected by him as she seemed to be, then it shouldn't be a problem for her.

For him was another matter.

"Try again, Bella."

Edward stepped even closer, placing his hands on her shoulder blades and sliding them along her raised arms. He readjusted her hands to offer better support. His hands slid back down her arms again, settling on her shoulders for a squeeze and finally dropped them to his sides. Softest skin he ever felt.

He stepped back and said, "Go."

She closed her eyes for a moment, opened them, and shot, missing by only a few inches. After a few moments, she tried again and she missed. At that point, she was upset, but she kept at it until she knocked off a target with both eyes open.

"See, all you need is to practice," he murmured, crossing his arms over his chest. She rolled her eyes at him and tried again only to miss. She huffed, put on the safety, and handed him the gun. Without another look at him, she marched inside the cabin.

"I didn't say we were done!"

Before he reached the porch, she reappeared with a shotgun in her hands. He grabbed the end of the barrel and pointed it down. "Whoa, what the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"I need to see if I can do anything with this?" she said, clearly irritated when he refused to move. "Move." When he didn't, she started to load the shotgun with ease.

"Does Charlie know you can do that?"

"I watched Billy do it a hundred times," she said but avoided his eyes. Something told him that Billy showed her a bit more than she let on.

Edward nodded, allowed her to move past him as he followed. If she got hurt from the power of the weapon, she'd only do it once. Besides, the most that could happen was that she'd bruise her shoulder. She reached the area he marked as the line and took aim. She hit three in a row, before she stopped and smiled at him. It was one of triumph and one he'd never seen before.

"This is easier for me," she said, but sighed and rolled her shoulder. "But you're right. I need to learn with the other one." She popped off the headphones and handed him the shotgun. "What's wrong?" Her eyes softened around the corners, her full bottom lip looked so damn inviting, even when it wasn't curving into one of her smiles.

A war was going on inside him, one he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to fight. It was all her fault.

"Stop looking at me that way," he hissed, turning and stalking away.

"That's funny, I was going to say the same thing to you!" she called out to him, clearly angry. His foot that was poised in midair when she yelled and hit the porch step hard. He swirled around to glare at her. "You forget I don't have any experience with men or this kind of attraction. You said nothing could happen and now that I'm trying to do my best not to show how I feel, how much I just want to touch you, and you're going to take it out on me? How is that fair?"

"None of this situation is fucking fair."

"No shit," she spat, walking past him. "I'll make it even easier for you than pretending I'm fucking asexual. I'll stay in my damn room." She stomped her way inside the cabin and allowed the door to slam in his face.

"Fuck!"

He sat his ass down on the steps, laying the shotgun across his lap and placed the handgun on the stair beside him. His fingers automatically reached for the pack in his flannel shirt pocket, and with minimally shaking hands, he lit up another cigarette.

He wished the dog had stayed, but Bella had sent him with Charlie for a checkup with the vet. The big oaf would've kept Bella aware of any problems while he ran a few miles. No dog meant he couldn't leave, even for a quick walk.

Time seemed to pass too slowly after that, but he heard her banging around inside. He knew he should talk to her. A part of him thought it wouldn't help. He considered for a moment that once Charlie or Garrett returned and he could get away for a bit, he'd find a bar, a willing woman, and a cheap motel for a night. It had been too long since he'd gotten lost in that kind of oblivion. It would only be a temporary relief, but it was all he could do. He knew that anything with Bella wasn't possible.

A person's first time was always memorable, and after they brought the killer to justice, Edward would leave town and never look back. He couldn't do that to Bella, besides his sister warned him once. She knew from the first time he'd seen Bella that he wanted her.

"_Don't even think about it. She has too much baggage because of her mother, and you'll leave just like she did."_

After Rosalie's warning, he worked hard not to think of Bella that way and even visited less often. Though he denied she was reason for a while. It was the right thing to do then, and it would be now.

Edward would remain strong while she was around. He'd protect her and lay down his life for her if he needed to, but he wouldn't open his heart.

It was dark by the time he made his way inside the cabin. It smelled damn good and he sought out the source in the kitchen. A big pot of beef stew, and a laptop along with a note with SORRY written on it, awaited him on the counter.

Picking up the note, he read silently and felt more like the asshole he promised he'd never become.

_Edward,_

_I'm sorry. I just feel so tightly wound up with everything and I took it on you. For that, I'm sorry. Charlie sent everything pertaining to the cases to your email. I'll stay out of your way._

_Bellie_

"Aw, Bellie," he groaned. He dropped the note and ran his hands through his hair. His gaze looked toward the hallway, to where her room was, and wondered if he should go to her and offer an apology. The thought of seeing her in her bed, and probably in his old jersey would drive him up the wall.

_Should I go to her?_

However, sometimes circumstances force a person to make an instant choice. His decision made when he heard her scream. He ran toward her without a second thought.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

Edward kicked at the bathroom door. Logic had clearly left his mind with Bella screaming from inside. The second he saw her though, he knew Bella wasn't in real trouble.

"Oh my God!" she screamed again, and what he found in that bathroom would forever be imprinted on his mind. There she was, holding up a toilet brush like a weapon. No, Bella wasn't in the kind of trouble that was a fatal threat to her. It was a different kind. She was standing on the toilet, waving her plastic weapon toward the tub, dressed in _only_ a towel.

Edward decided she was definitely in trouble—from him.

"What the hell is wrong?" he asked, slapping the shower curtain back and seeing nothing behind it but tile.

Shocked, wide brown eyes landed on him, as she pointed toward the tub again, with a whimper on her lips, "A mouse."

She was screaming because of a mouse!

"I don't like creepy crawly things!" She shuddered. "They're in my nightmares."

Edward pushed down the need to tell her off, since she appeared and sounded genuinely scared. He turned his back on her to look. Inside the tub, in the corner was a tiny, clearly frightened brown mouse. It had probably fallen in by mistake and now couldn't find a way out.

"Get it out!" Bella hissed, swinging her weapon toward him. She missed thankfully.

"Hey watch it!" he grumbled and made the mistake of turning to look at her again.

_Jesus. _Her legs went on for miles. Creamy, slightly toned, but there was a softness to her thighs he wanted to explore and test with his hands and mouth. The images immediately sprang up in his mind, pissing him off again. "For fuck's sake, go put on some clothes!"

That did it.

Fire practically lit in her eyes before they narrowed. She threw the brush at his hip, jumped down, and stomped out of the bathroom. He winced when he heard the bedroom door slam closed a few seconds later.

She wouldn't leave the house, he told himself. She was simply taking a moment to calm down. Not that he blamed her, since he was in desperate need of a moment, or a hundred of them, too.

Trying to shake away the image of her from his head, he searched for something to grab the mouse with, not having many options. He wasn't exactly a fan of mice either, found a box under the sink, and tossed the contents on the counter.

"Gotcha," he said triumphantly after a minute of coercing it inside the box. He groaned when he realized it was a tampon box. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

Carefully, he exited the bathroom and bedroom, heading for the backdoor but paused by the alarm panel. Armed he exited the house, releasing the mouse at the tree line several yards away, and then did a perimeter check. Half an hour later, satisfied that nothing or nobody was out there, he unlocked the back door, immediately entering the code in the alarm panel.

The scent of beef stew was in the air again, and he cautiously approached the kitchen. It was obvious that Bella had already come and gone while he was checking the perimeter. A freshly washed bowl, glass, and spoon sat on a dishtowel by the sink.

"Bellie, what are we doing?"

It shouldn't be like that between them. They needed to work together if they wanted to catch the killer and end the nightmare Bella had suffered for years.

He served himself and ate slowly in the hopes that Bella would return to the kitchen. When she didn't, he went to work on the files.

Two hours passed since the bathroom incident, and calls from Garrett and Charlie kept him apprised of the situation in the city. There wasn't anything new to report other than school and birth and foster records would take time. Everything from before 1990 was not in their computer systems and would take at least a few days to go through. Edward had spent most of the time going over the computer files and photographs from the information that Charlie had sent him.

He could hear Bella occasionally moving around in her room. There was one moment, when he had to give her the cell phone so she could talk to Charlie. She only stuck out her hand for it. He hated that shit. Due to her phobia she didn't step out of her house, now because of him she wouldn't step out of her room.

After spending hours at the computer and looking through photos he printed out, his mind was nearly numb. A look at the clock said it was almost midnight. Bella hadn't made another appearance. He wasn't sure if her absence was a good thing anymore.

Edward made his way toward the office where most of the security cameras were, and went through the normal checklist for locking down the entire property. The system was sensitive, and they warned him that he'd probably get false readings due to deer or rabbits, which was one of the reasons that each television in the house had access to live footage of the perimeter.

He pressed a button on the wall for the intercom to let Bella know that he was locking down. She didn't reply and he knew he had to check on her. Avoidance had him cleaning the kitchen, double-checking every door and window in the cabin, taking another hour. He knew she was in her room, safe for the night. Finally, when there was nothing else left to do, he walked down the hallway.

Every step closer to her had his heart beating faster, and his body tightening in response and in anticipation. It was futile for him to think he'd find satisfaction anywhere else, and not just because he was forced to remain with her.

It was Bella.

The one person he couldn't touch in the past and present. Yet, he knew it was fucking inevitable. Since the moment they met, there had always been a connection. She had opened her mouth to introduce herself as Rosalie's best friend with a smile that could light up a room.

She'd been a fantasy for so long, and now she was obtainable.

_You'll be an asshole for taking from her what you can't give in return. _

He opened her bedroom door slowly in case she was asleep, with a slight squeak from the hinges. The room was dim, with some light spilling from a crack of the bathroom door as the only source. The strip of artificial light was a straight shot toward her figure by the window. She looked ethereal in the dimness, the almost moonless night her backdrop, yet her skin nearly glowed from where she stood.

She was dressed in his old jersey and it appeared nothing else. He swallowed back the groan that almost escaped and instead, cleared his throat. "Bella," his voice was still thick and low. His mind warred with the rest of him.

She swayed slightly, her back toward him. She did or said nothing else, indicating she was still angry with him. He didn't blame her. He took his frustrations out on her when it wasn't her fault.

"I'm sorry," he said after the silence proved too much for him. It was another minute before he figured out she wasn't going to talk to him. "I don't know what to say or do."

Slowly she turned, but the movement was stiff and not the way his Bella moved. Something was wrong. He was across the room and by her side before she fully turned.

"Bella!" He reached for her and his hands slipped right through her. "What the fuck?" he cried out and tried again, only to fill his hands with nothing but cold air. His mind blanked, his heart beating so fast in his chest that it threatened to leap out and lay at her ghostly figure's feet. His stomach churned and refused to acknowledge it was Bella. Even as the figure worried gaze landed on him.

She flickered and disappeared.

A gasp behind him had him reaching for his gun, swirling around and aiming toward the sound. Mindlessly shooting in the dark, a scream pierced through the ringing in his ears. His mind restarted again, more aware but fear clawed at him. What had he just seen? Who was the figure on the bed? Where was Bella?


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

Edward whirled around again, the figure he'd seen earlier gone. Had it been his imagination? His heart was in his throat, drying out his mouth and the words that wanted to escape. Brain wasn't functioning on all cylinders. What had he seen? A ghost? God, he couldn't handle losing someone else to the bastard that killed his sister.

He approached the bed with caution, unsure if he was lost in a nightmare. If was a dream, he was probably sitting on the couch or at the table asleep. It looked like Bella on the bed. Was she just an illusion of his own chaotic mind?

"What the hell was that?" he heard from the prone figure. "Oh my God, it worked." One of her hands moved, slapping the mattress before she seemed to sense she wasn't alone.

"Bella?" he asked, his voice cracking due to fear.

"Edward." She slowly turned to face him. Her eyes appeared wide open in the sliver of light from the bathroom that illuminated her face. "W-what are you…Why are you pointing a gun at me?"

It looked and talked like her, seemed slightly more cohesive than the Bella his hands ran straight through. A shiver of fear crawled up his spine at the memory.

"I saw you by the window and then on the bed," he said, still not lowering his weapon. He looked down and realized the safety was off. Hadn't he shot at her? Was he finally losing his mind?

The figure nodded, brown curls moving along with her, one eclipsing her forehead. Her hand rose to move it, but it froze midway when Edward's hands shook. She dropped it slowly, turning her palm up and offered it to him.

"I can explain," she whispered. Her voice and tone was smooth, worry free and calming. As if she was talking to a wounded animal. He knew he was that animal.

_She sounds like Bella_, he told himself. "Explain how I just saw you as a ghost."

Bella's eyes softened, as she finally understood what was troubling him. She had scared him. "I can explain," she repeated in an even softer voice. "But please, Edward, put down the gun, you're scaring me."

His brow furrowed, his eyes falling to the gun in his hand. He muttered a curse, putting on the safety and placing it on the nightstand. Right behind it, in the wall, was the bullet hole. If she had been standing, she'd be dead.

"Fucking hell," he groaned. His hands rubbed over his face and hair, as he tried to control his heart rate. His back was to her and his shoulders moved several times as he tried to gather himself before he spoke. "Why did you scream? Tell me."

Bella cleared her throat delicately, gathering some of her hair in one hand. A nervous gesture when she was at a loss for words. She found them and knew that what she said would likely have consequences.

"I screamed because I freaked out when I went back into my—" At his confused expression, she quickly started from the beginning. "I wanted to see if I can control what happens to me when he takes a victim."

He spun around and was by her bedside in two strides. His face was murderous, twisted in fury.

"You wanted to test you fucking ability and scare twenty years off my damn life! Is that what you mean? Had I been Charlie or Billy you would've given them a heart attack. Do you understand?"

She didn't fear him, but she was concerned. "I needed to know if I can slip in and out like I had with you so that next time I can save them like I saved you."

"Damn it," he spat and walked away from the bed and from her. Wide-eyed and pale, she didn't seem to grasp how much she scared him. He wanted her to understand why he was so angry.

He told her. "I saw Rosalie the day she died. And it was just like I saw you just a minute ago."

"Oh."

"For that fucking everlasting moment when my hands just went through you, I thought you were dead."

After a beat of silence she whispered, "Edward."

"Don't ever do that again," he stated firmly.

"I need—"

Before she could reply in full, he was on her in a flash. His hands grasped her arms, pulling her onto her knees on the mattress in one quick move. He brought her nose-to-nose, and he repeated his words. "I said don't ever do that again."

Her eyes were glistening, as she nodded. He was scaring her, he knew, but she needed to say it. "I won't try like that again." It wasn't what he wanted to hear.

She smelled like vanilla and sugar, and she was closer than she'd ever been. His heart still beat wildly in his chest. She was so fucking warm and soft, her arms bare for his touch. Skin to skin, there was little else he could do, but what he fantasized about for too long.

As if she realized his intent, her lips parted, like an invitation for him to taste and sample at his leisure. He knew he should leave, but there was a raw need to be sure she was still with him, alive.

There was no better way than to feel her heart beat against his chest.

Her long lashes fluttered slightly, and as he eliminated the space between them, he felt their feathery touch on his cheek. A soft sound escaped her divine mouth when his nose slid along one side of hers, letting her become accustomed to his closeness.

At the first touch of his lips, she moaned softly. She seemed unsure and inexperienced, awaiting his instruction. He tasted one corner of her mouth, testing the varying softness there. His tongue swept along her bottom lip, sucking on the pink skin for a moment. She trembled in his grasp, a shiver moving through her and into him. He shook with the same desire, enclosing her within his arms as he stood at the side of the bed. Even on her knees as she was, he had to pull her up to reach her mouth with a firmer kiss, his hands low on her back. He loved the femininity of her stature, and the feel of her small frame within the cage of his own.

His eyes finally closed as his teeth and tongue teased her top lip, tracing the shape before he explored inside. Her moan worked its way inside of him, down to his beating chest and further hardened his lower body. His own groan slipped unbidden, fueling the woman in his arms to explore further. Delicate hands moved over his sides and up along his shoulders before her fingers delved into his hair. She tugged at it when their tongues met and her body was flush against his.

She gave no indication that she felt the ridge of erection against her stomach, but there was no denying it was there. Her softness complimented the hard planes of his body. Her breasts were full and soft against his chest, the tips tightening through the thin fabric of his jersey she wore and his clothing.

His hands splayed across her back, pulling her even tighter against him. She tasted as sweet as she smelled. Felt as warm and soft as he imagined. She was havoc on every nerve in his body and yet, he wanted more.

However, it was Bella. She'd been through too much, had come too far for him to take what he wanted from her without some care and patience. There was no use in fighting anymore. He was too damn tired for it, and for once in his life, he wanted something even if he didn't deserve it.

Breathless, he pulled away from her alluring mouth to the curve of her neck and shoulder. Her pulse thudded against his tongue, and she eased her head back to allow him further access.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Sorry, I scared you."

Edward nodded and breathed her in deeply. "Let's lay down so you can explain to me what just happened and why." Even though he knew he should leave, he couldn't find it in himself to follow his mind's suggestion. He needed the comfort she offered so readily.

She pulled him down along her side, but he rose long enough to remove his flannel shirt and threw it on the floor, leaving him in his t-shirt and jeans. She watched him as he tried to decide if it was safe for him to remove his pants, even though he knew they wouldn't go any further—for the night.

Her hand rose up for him, a clear invitation to join her. He knew he couldn't deny her, and he needed to hold her for a while longer. His heart rate and blood pressure still had yet to calm down enough. He slipped out of his socks and tossed his jeans onto a nearby chair.

She lifted the covers up enough for him to slide in beside her. Carefully, she pulled him in close and rested his head on her chest. The sound of her heart was exactly what he needed to hear. As the rhythm of their breaths started to match, she hummed softly until he was ready to hear what she had to say.

~oOo~

In a city nearby, there was a man, standing in front of a mirror. His eyes were wide, bloodshot from too many sleepless nights, the color of murky brown. The light often found in children's eyes died years ago, leaving them dull and unremarkable, except for the tiny little starburst of green in each eye, a trait he shared with his sister.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

* * *

Edward faced Bella, with his head on a pillow beside hers. She mimicked him and her eyes were shiny, beautiful under the lighting from the nearby lamp he turned on moments before. That close to her, he looked over inch of her face. Originally, he thought her eyes were a warm brown and with touches of gold, but with her so close, he could see they had a touch of green, too. It was as if she had a small green flower in each one.

"What were you trying to do?" he asked, cradling one side of her face. He wanted to feel her skin next to his, her cheek seemed the safest bet. That was until he felt it warm beneath his palm, didn't surprise him. She was so responsive to his touch and it made him want to explore her more.

"Like I said, I wanted to see if I could have more control when I'm under like that," she said thoughtfully. "To see if I can come out of that state, back into my body and give you the information you need to find the next victim, and then go back to check on them at will."

Edward closed his eyes for a moment, at a loss for words. He understood her need to save the others, since it was something he felt too. At what cost though?

"What if they die while you're still in their minds?"

"I almost did once," she whispered, a crease forming between her eyebrows. He smoothed his thumb over it, earning a soft smile. "But usually I'm pushed out before they die."

He continued to caress the sweet curve of her cheek as he tried to understand. "In the past, you get into this _state _when he takes a victim, right?" She nodded. "You had no control when they happened."

"None, I've fought it, but in the end, I always end up like the other day."

"So how do you know what you just did is exactly like what happened before?"

Bella's lips pursed, her brow furrowing in confusion. "I guess I don't know. It felt the same, but I had a little more control. I think."

"Did you see me in your room while you _projected_? I was by the window."

She looked sheepish, likely remembering his reaction. He must have looked as if he'd seen a ghost. In his defense, he thought he had. She shrugged slightly, tracing patterns with her fingertips on his t-shirt over his chest. "I thought I was dreaming and that I hadn't succeeded. Not until I came out of it did I realize it worked, and then saw you near the bed."

Such innocent touches from her made it hard for him to concentrate. He took her wandering hand, kissing each finger. The need to know that she was actual flesh and blood still clawed at him. "That at least tells us that you remember what you're seeing when you…What did you call it again?"

"Astral-projection, it's the closest description for what I can do. Another is remote viewing, which is why I think I have a combination of both."

Edward decided he'd look at Bella's research on the phenomena and do some of his own. It sounded much too risky, and it would be for her best interests to keep her safe.

After a few moments of tense silence, he spoke again. "The next time, when you decide to practice, I need to be there. I need to be able to monitor you and pull you out of it if the need arises. It might help, like you said, gain control when he chooses another victim."

Her eyes widened, her lips curving into a frown. "He will choose someone else, won't he?"

Edward wished he could lie to her and tell her everything would be all right. He couldn't, she needed to hear the truth.

"He wouldn't let something like this stop him. And let's be honest here, the fucker would probably get off on knowing you're watching."

"I can't sense much from him, but hatred and resentment. Toward who, I can't be sure." She looked up at him, her hand clutching his bicep tightly. "He was hurt as a child. I know that doesn't excuse what he's doing now, but someone hurt him badly. He's paying someone back, because of the injustice of it."

"It could be the school district and possibly law enforcement, they are the only similar links in the victims besides their descriptions," he suggested. "You mentioned that earlier." Edward had already confirmed that seven of the thirteen victims, now including Bella, had family in law enforcement. They were still working on the others.

"Maybe his school teacher ignored the abuse, or a cop."

Edward fingered her hair again, pulling some forward to tumble across her shoulder. He wanted to see it spread across the pillow. What was she doing to him?

"Whoever he is, we'll figure out from what you've already told us."

"I hope so," she whispered, yawning and trying to hide it. Edward smiled warmly at her, tucking her against his chest. "I'm sorry. I feel so tired all of a sudden."

"You've been through a lot, Bella."

"I left the house," she stated, as if she couldn't believe just yet.

"You did."

Was that only the night before? It felt so long ago, even though the memory of it was still vivid.

"I left the house for you and drove, Edward. I don't even have a license." He realized she talked about anything, silly things, and made strange observations, when she was nervous.

"Thank you," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. Her murmured goodnight was so soft, it was a wonder he heard it. She was asleep by the time he returned the sentiment.

Edward turned slightly to turn off the lamp, and kept his weapon tucked underneath the edge of the mattress before he allowed himself to doze. His body instinctively curled around Bella, her back to his chest and despite the layers of clothes between them, he was aware of her heartbeat and strove to match it before he finally fell asleep.

~oOo~

The next day proved to be another dead end day for Garrett and Charlie in the city. There were too many records, over too broad of a year parameter for them to search thoroughly. Despite more FBI agents assigned to the case for further instance, it seemed futile. Garrett had some computer whiz kid working to create an algorithm to run a proper search with the parameters needed, to help narrow down the possible suspects.

The county didn't have the funds to help with the transition from paper files to computer, and the task was left to the authorities. They had FBI and local police, but it was still a slow process. They concentrated on the age parameters both Bella and the profilers suggested.

By the end of the day, the number of them went from several thousand to about three hundred, but it was still too large of a pool. They hoped for more usable information, but other than male, white Caucasian, approximately twenty-five to thirty-five years old, raised by a single parent, adopted, or orphaned as a child. So far, there wasn't anything more Bella could remember.

They found the car that followed Charlie around town. Stripped clean, recently stolen and there were no cameras outside the building from where it was taken. The few shots from a traffic camera near the place yielded nothing, but blurry images of a man who had purposely angled his face away from them. The hope that it had simply been a reporter diminished.

Edward had poured over the files Charlie sent him, looking for something new to stand out, anything for a break in the case. He was looking at a file of one of the victims when Bella handed him something to eat.

"This is all starting to blend together," he said, dropping a copy of the file on the table. He looked around and saw the mess he made, enough that there was nowhere for Bella to sit and join him.

"Fuck, I'm sorry, angel." He rose to clear up some space when he noticed Bella watching him, a soft smile on her sweet lips. "Something tells me you're laughing at me."

Her smile twitched lightly, but she shook her head. "Never." She joined him, taking his hands away from the papers that littered the table. "Take a break, Edward." She sighed, adding, "Just a short one. You've been at it for almost ten hours."

"I am hungry," he said, shrugging. "Did I even eat lunch?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, you did and it was a delicious roast beef sandwich. Come on. Join me in the living room."

He did as she asked, taking the plate of what looked like tacos and a cup of iced tea from the table. He followed her and enjoyed the view. She had a great ass and legs. Though they hadn't discussed what would happen between them, they did touch each other at every opportunity since they woke up in bed together that morning.

He had awoken to her tentative kisses, deepening them as he hovered over her, only to stop as his phone rang. A call from Charlie was all it took before Bella left the bedroom in somewhat guilty embarrassment. In the kitchen, she started on breakfast, and after a cold shower, he joined her in cooking. It was a small room, and their bodies constantly had to brush each other as they worked together.

It was torture, but amazing, too. Eventually, he had to leave that comfort zone with Bella and delve into the mind of a serial killer. She had spent most of the afternoon on her own work, checking on him throughout the day.

She led him to the couch, had him sit while she discussed her latest project. He knew what she was doing, taking his mind off the case. Her voice and presence allowed his mind to focus on something else, and he hoped it would clear enough to find what he was looking for.

She was a clever one.

As she rambled, seemingly nervous, he watched her. She had a sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose, a light dusting of them over each cheek. Her bottom lip was fuller than the top, making it just slightly more alluring of the two. Her ears were small, cute even, with a tiny gemstone in each lobe. The column of her neck was longer than he expected on someone so small, but it suited her, and all he wanted to do was adorn it with precious metals and his mouth. Savor it under his tongue and test it with edge of his teeth.

_Calm down, man._

She only sat there beside him, talking in that way of hers with her hands, and still she turned him upside down and inside out.

"You need to stop looking at me like that," she said breathlessly after several minutes. He had already finished his food and his drink, while he listened and watched her.

He felt the corner of his mouth lift as his pulled on a springy curl of her hair. "How am I looking at you?"

Her gaze fell to her lap, her hands twisting there nervously. "Like you want to see me naked," she murmured.

If he had taken a drink from his glass, it would've ended up all over her. Instead, her words left his jaw hanging. She was very direct, as she had been when she was younger. She'd always been the "in your face or foot-in-mouth type."

Her mouth also often had landed her into trouble. Before he could respond though, she went suddenly still. Her eyes rolled back as she fell against him.

"Bella!" He grabbed her, instantly reaching for the drawing pad and pencil Charlie said always to have within reach. "Baby, what do you see?"

_Please work. Please let the night before be for nothing._

Her breathing was harsh, seconds passed and Edward was ready to call for Charlie as her eyes snapped open.

"What do you see?"

"Charlie! Daddy! No, no, no," she cried, shaking in his arms and fighting his hold on her. "I'm not seeing through Charlie's, I'm seeing through the killer's again."

"How?" She calmed the second she heard his voice.

The episode was different from the other one he witnessed, she seemed more aware. "We're connected now," she whispered, closing her eyes again. She was gone for twelve seconds, ten too many. She looked high when she came back, and it took a few moments for her to be coherent. "I don't think he knows I can see him." Each word punctuated with a gasp or cough, as if she struggled to breathe.

"Look to see if you can find a mirror, Bella. We need to know what he looks like."

She was gone for five that time, her lashes fluttering as she focused on his face. "I can't make him turn his head, I don't have that kind of control. But he's watching Charlie. I need to stay connected. Call for help now."

Edward scrambled for the phone in his pocket, keeping her in his arms. Just in case, he called Garrett first. "Bella is seeing something again. Says he's watching Charlie right now. No, you don't understand. She says she's looking at Charlie through _his_ eyes. Get someone to Charlie without alerting either of them, it might spook the asshole."

Bella gasped, coming back to him. "He's following him into the courthouse." She clutched at her chest. "He's breathing hard, hurts like hell. I think he has something, maybe asthma. I don't know. It makes me light-headed."

All the while Garrett made the necessary calls to have someone tail Charlie and look for the possible suspect. Edward put his phone on speaker so that Garrett could listen in.

"He's taking a detour, he stopped following my dad. He's looking through a directory on the wall, his finger stopped at Judge Hanley's office." She was gone for several seconds again, gasping and reaching for Edward's glass of iced tea. When she finally came up for air, she groaned, "His daughter will be the next victim. Not sure when, but that's who he's chosen."

Edward swept damp, matted hair from her forehead, kissed her softly as she went limp in his arms. She nuzzled his neck.

"Did you get that, Garrett?" Edward asked, knowing the agent was still on the line.

"Yeah, I got it." They could hear him typing away at some computer. "Lizbeth Hanley. She matches the descriptions of the other girls. We'll keep you posted."

Bella leaned toward the phone, her voice rough from her heavy breathing. "Have someone on Charlie, Garrett. Please."

"I will, Bella."

After the call, Edward held Bella close. It took well over an hour before her body stopped shaking.

"I need to shower," she whispered, her finger tightening in his shirt. "I feel gross, like he touched me."

Edward cursed, rising to his feet with her in his arms. After he locked down the house, he led her to her bathroom, turning on the tap. She was so weak, barely able to lift an arm, so he helped her undress. His hands shook when she wore nothing but her underwear and bra, her skin so soft beneath his touch.

Warm brown eyes lifted to meet his darkened gaze. "Will you stay with me while I take a bath?"

Cradling her face in his hands, he kissed her softly. "Yes."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

* * *

Edward stood back as Bella stripped herself of her bra and underwear. He did his best to keep his eyes on her face, but he was a man after all. There was only so much temptation one man could handle. Her hand slipped in his for support to climb inside the tub, and his gaze roamed over every inch of her.

She was beautiful. Smooth flawless skin, the color a creamy ivory with a touch of rose. Her hair tumbled down her back in a waterfall of curls.

"Careful," he whispered, helping her into the warm water. Tendrils of steam rose from the surface of the water, lapping at the sides as she settled in the tub. Her head fell back, a neck rest helping to make her comfortable.

He gathered her hair and lifted it enough for it to fall over the tub's edge. She whispered a thank you and closed her eyes for a few moments.

"I've never done anything like this before," she said after a minute, not looking at him. "Take a bath or shower in front of a man."

"I know," Edward said softly, offering her a washcloth. "Considering what happened to you, that's understandable. I am curious though, you were wild before the kidnapping. Are you telling me you don't have _any _experience?"

She blushed and shrugged. "I went out with a few guys before all this happened. We did things, just not _everything_." Edward didn't exactly enjoy hearing that, but he needed to know. So much for resisting, he thought. He didn't stand a chance.

"Bella," he sighed and grabbed a small cup nearby as she leaned forward to start washing. "I have to be honest with you. My head has been so messed up after Rosalie died that—I can't give you any promises."

She looked up at him, smiling gently. "And neither can I," she said, frowning a little. "How can I when I might wake up in someone else's mind and get trapped or die. Does that mean I don't go after what I want?"

"No," he said. "You have a right to live your life to the fullest, even if someone is out there trying to end it. I'm having a hard time with the fact that for some reason you want me."

She cocked her head to one side, seemingly confused. "You sound surprised."

"I want to make sure I'm not convenient." He grimaced and added, "Sorry."

"I guess I can understand that," she said, running the washcloth along her arm and tempting him further. "There aren't many people that know I'm here and who can visit me."

"Exactly," he said, nodding.

"Do you believe that I'm incapable of making a conscious decision about my attraction toward you?" He shrugged in response. "You make it sound like any man not directly related to me would do." The thought had occurred to him, he was one of few eligible men that visited. He cleared his throat, wincing, but didn't reply. "Let's go out tomorrow."

Bella tacked that on so abruptly that Edward seemed lost. "Why would we go out?" he asked and felt thoroughly confused.

"Edward," she said, shaking her head. "You think I'm attracted to you because you are the first man that has visited me that I could even have a chance to have a romantic interest in."

She was right, but he wasn't about to admit it.

"So, maybe we should put that to the test. We can go out tomorrow, maybe a few towns over and head to a bar. See if you're right. Maybe I can dance a little with some of the men there, or let one buy me a drink."

Edward's fury at her suggestion was astonishing and beautiful to witness. His eyes widened, the green almost darkening to hunter green that nearly glowed under the bathroom lighting. A vein in the shape of a misshapen Y popped up on his forehead, his full lips thinning considerably.

"Hell no!" he hissed. "First of all, your protection is my first priority with the killer on the loose that has a hard-on for you."

Her face pinched at the thought. "Ew."

"Second of all, hell would fucking freeze over before I would let any other man touch you." She grinned at that. He cursed, "You set me up."

"I still got it," she said, pumping her fist in air once. Nearly grinning, she noticed where his eyes landed, her chest. "Sorry, I had to see if a little psychology would work on you. I've read a lot of books on the subject since I've been here."

Before she could say another word, Edward grasped the back of her neck and slanted his mouth over hers. The washcloth in her hands fell with a plop into the water. Her fingers slid up his neck and jaw, holding him as tightly as he did her. Their lips moved, tested, and tasted with a heat and urgency that left her breathless.

The bite of his stubble against her skin excited her, her thumbs brushed the sharp line of his jaw before ascending to his silky hair. It was longer than she'd ever seen it, and it felt so good to have in her hands. She tested him with a tug, to which he groaned in reply. That only made her pull him closer, but his grunt made him pull away when he almost fell into the tub.

Sheepishly, she released him, watching as he pulled back to remove his now wet shirt over his head. "Where were we," he murmured, his eyes still a shade of green that made her body clench in response, her thighs rubbing together.

"I think you were right here," she said, pointing to her lips. That same finger slowly moved from the corner of her mouth, along the curve of her neck, to just beneath the water. "You were working your way lower though."

As he cradled her face in his hands, the cell phone started to ring. "Damn it," he hissed and rose to his feet. "I'm sorry, but you know I have to take it."

Bella nodded, watching him walk out of the bathroom. His back was gorgeous and she wondered what it would take to have a chance to touch him as she always fantasized when she first met him.

She finished her bath, choosing not to wash her hair. She sat back, humming some nameless tune she didn't know. Edward's voice in the bedroom started to lull her to sleep, her fingers lazily running over from shoulder to shoulder. A technique she used to relax when she couldn't sleep.

As she drifted, she felt herself pull away. She saw herself within the tub, sinking further within the water. Alarmed that she couldn't find her way back in her own body and mind, she panicked.

_Can he hear me when I'm like this?_

As if he heard her, Edward ran back inside the bathroom, his arms diving into the water, calling out her name. Suddenly, she felt something pull her from the center of her stomach, slamming her back inside her body. She fought him, disoriented. Arms flailing, her mouth, and throat filled with water as she struggled to breathe. Her lungs felt like they were on fire.

Cradled in his arms, she murmured hoarsely, "I can't fall asleep in the tub." She shivered violently, and Edward heard her teeth chatter. "I have no control of my body when I leave it." She coughed for several seconds, gasping for breath.

Edward held her close until she quieted. It took several minutes for her calm down. "You're fine now, but you'll be taking a shower from now on."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, unable to meet his eyes. She had scared him so much once, and didn't want him to feel that way again. "I'm sorry." From the rate in which his heart still raced, she'd done it again.

"Or we'll make sure you don't bathe alone," he said, tightening his hold on her. She wasn't sure if he meant for her to hear it.

In his arms, she felt safe, wanted and desired. "I need to lay down, Edward. I'm a little dizzy."

He helped her dry up and dress, lifting her up in his arms to carry her to bed. There, he had her call her father to check in with him, since he was worried about the episode she had while on the phone with Edward.

"I'm fine, Dad," she said, as Edward paced nearby.

"_Is he treating you good, Bells?"_

"Of course he is." Bella looked up at Edward, quirking an eyebrow in question. He only shrugged and left the room.

"_Should I send Billy on up there?"_

"Everyone knows that he's your best friend. I'd feel better knowing he's not being followed."

"_You know Billy. If he wanted to make sure he wasn't being followed, he'd do anything to cover his tracks."_

"Even cover himself in animal urine," Bella said, shuddering at the memory of some of Billy's hunting stories. "Now quit avoiding the subject. What's going on with his potential next victim?"

"_We have her under surveillance. If the judge finds out about us withholding information that a killer might be after his daughter and something happens to her, we'll all be out of a job."_

"You can't tell him that you're getting your information based on vision either. They'll never believe it."

"_Exactly. He'd want proof that we don't have."_

"Are you pulling his case files? Maybe there's a connection between him and the killer."

"_We're working on that."_

"Keep us posted."

He cleared his throat. "We will. Are you sure you don't want me to send Billy?" Confused that he would ask again, she looked to see that Edward had disappeared. "What's going on, Dad?"

He sighed. _"Edward asked if it was okay if he could see you. As in, date you."_

Bella worked hard to stifle a giggle. "Are you serious? He asked if it was okay to…to court me!"

Edward said from down the hall, he groaned, "I can hear you!"

She whispered and asked her dad, "Are you okay with it?"

"_I just want you happy, Bells."_

"Right now, I can use as much happiness as I can get. He's out there, waiting for me."

"_He won't touch you, Bella. We'll make sure of it."_

"Now that we know who his next intended victim is, maybe you'll catch him and all this would be over soon."

"_Sure hope so, Bells."_

Did that mean Edward would stay? He made it clear he couldn't promise her anything. "I better go," she said softly. "How's Rufus doing?" Charlie had taken the dog when he left for a vet appointment. They spoke for another few minutes. "Thanks for everything, Dad."

"_Any time."_

"Be careful."

"_You, too."_

After she ended the call, she took her time to dry her hair until it wasn't as wild and a little more manageable. She could hear Edward mess around in the kitchen and knew she would have to make the next move again.

She understood his reluctance and his fear. What she told him was the truth. She didn't expect promises when she couldn't give any. The incident in the tub proved it. She could die the next day, so how could she promise to love and be with him forever? There was a chance that wasn't something he would want with her anyway. She hadn't been around men like him in a while, but she knew how some thought. They were always thinking with their dicks, most of the time anyway. However, from the gentle way Edward was with her sometimes, she didn't believe that he was after only sex. "Stop over thinking," she grumbled to herself.

She found him in the kitchen making her hot chocolate a minute later. He offered it to her without a word. Warming her hands around the mug, she watched him clean up. It took him some time since he refused her help. All the while, she loved how he moved with a grace and a fluidity that made his muscles dance beneath his clothes.

His shirt was still off, which she appreciated.

"I think I know what you mean about looks," he said, with his back facing her.

She grinned before she took another sip of her drink. "What do you mean?"

"You're looking at me as if I'm something to eat."

"Yup."

He laughed, shaking his head. "God, I have a feeling I'd never win an argument with you."

"Oh good, you're already learning that I'm always right."

Edward turned, quirked an eyebrow in response. "Behave. If we're going to do this, we're doing it right. I can't really afford to get distracted, and neither can you. You could've drowned if it wasn't for the fact that I noticed no sound was coming from the bathroom."

"Sorry about that," she murmured and decided to change the subject. "How are we going to do this right?"

"With a date first," he said, shrugging seemingly unsure.

She wiggled her eyebrows. "Oh, I heard about the third date rule."

He cursed, slapping his forehead. "Woman, you're killing me.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

* * *

It had been three days since Bella had the incident in the tub. Three days since she'd seen the killer's potential next victim through his thoughts, shared them. Unfortunately, it had also been three days since Edward thoroughly kissed Bella as she bathed.

He was determined to be a gentleman, taking things slow. Though she thought it sweet, she also thought he was being completely unfair.

He walked around the cabin in jeans or cargo shorts and wife beaters. On occasion, he almost completely went without clothes, dressed in only boxers. It didn't help matter that he only had three sets of clothes. They slept in separate beds, though Bella had wished many times for the ceiling to collapse on his when he wasn't there, so he had no choice but to share hers.

"Wishful thinking," she grumbled as she took aim again. He wanted her to practice aiming when it was closer to night. With the sun setting beside them, it made it tougher.

"What was that?" Edward asked from behind her. They'd kept up her target practice sessions and added some defensive moves in case of an attacker. That meant close proximity, yet the man wouldn't touch her otherwise.

_I'm a walking freaking hormone at this point, _Bella internally groaned.

"Nothing," she murmured and pulled the trigger. She didn't flinch from the sound of the gunshot and the recoil anymore. At least not as much as before, she was steadier. Despite that, Edward pushed her to get better. He wouldn't be satisfied until she hit the target exactly in the center, every single time.

Since the tub incident and her last episode with the killer, there had been little news. There was no video footage from the courthouse due to an in house security system checkup, which meant the cameras were down at the time. Cameras in the surrounding buildings also proved pointless since most men that fit the possible description were neared two hundred. Edward recognized several, Charlie, Mark, a few reporters, and a couple of lawyers. All of them would have reasons to be in the courthouse.

Edward stood directly behind her, providing some support. She tried her best not to lean against him, but often indulged. It was the closest she could get to the man before he'd move away.

She rolled her neck and shoulders a bit, and lined up the next shot. Her hand shook, when she felt something that caused the tiny hairs on the back of her neck to rise. A breath escaped her in a hiss and she tuned out everything but sounds as a part of her entered another plane of existence. She kept a part of herself in her body, but allowed enough of her essence to search her surroundings. She'd been practicing the technique for days, but control was another issue.

Edward immediately took the gun from her hand and ushered her inside the cabin. He recognized the signs of another episode. "Someone is coming," she whispered.

"The perimeter alarm would've picked up if someone was he—" The fluttering of lights overhead and the alarm that buzzed silently in his front pocket cut him off. He cursed under his breath, grabbing another weapon from under the snack bar in the kitchen, and tucked the other gun in his waistband.

"Do you know who?" he asked Bella, fearing the worst. Charlie would have notified him if he or Garrett were coming in for a visit. Bella had talked to Billy on the phone only the day before and told her that he wouldn't attempt to come to the cabin. He was afraid the killer was watching him.

Bella shook her head, turning toward the front door where she sensed the presence. Edward gently pushed her behind the couch when he heard the creak on the front step of the porch. A quick check of his gun had him inching toward the window. He pulled open the curtain slightly, trying to get a look outside. His brow furrowed when he saw nothing and instead headed back into the living room. He turned on the television set and switched to the security camera feeds.

He breathed sigh of relief.

"Who is it?" Bella asked softly from behind the couch.

"A fucking wolf," he grumbled, extending his hand for hers. "I knew the system was too sensitive." She joined him and watched the poor thing sniff at what was left of their lunch that they had on the porch earlier. "You're getting stronger," he added in a whisper as they watched the poor thing look for more crumbs.

"It's starting to scare me," she said and shrugged. "I have more control, but at the same time, the littlest thing alerts me and my mind immediately separates me from my body to search my surroundings. There was the tub and now this. What if I had pulled the trigger?"

"Then you'll keep practicing like we have been. Are you sure there's no one else here?" he asked as he clicked through all the cameras. Fifteen in all, and nothing else appeared to be suspicious.

"I'm sure."

He nodded and turned off the television after he triple checked all the footage. "I'm going to the office and double check the last twenty minutes of the recordings to be on the safe side." He kissed her forehead, leaving her on the couch.

Bella sighed as she rose to her feet and headed into the kitchen. In the fridge, she found some cold cut ham, a little sausage, mixed it with some crackers, and tiptoed toward the front door. She wasn't sure if Edward would be okay with her feeding the wolf, but she had to try. She missed Rufus, her dog who was staying with Billy.

"I can see you," he said from down the hall. "Leave it on the steps, don't approach it. It already heard you anyway."

Bella nodded and flipped off the camera that he was likely watching her from using the office's monitor. Edward's laughter practically filled the hallway as she carefully walked out onto the porch.

At least he didn't baby her.

She did as he asked, leaving the food on the bottom step of the porch. Crouched, she saw the wolf appear at the tree line. Fur was missing in various spots along one side. It was obvious that it'd been in a recent struggle, one ear partially missing. It had a limp, though not a bad one. It watched her carefully as she walked backward toward the door. Its eyes were blue which she knew was not normal for wolves in the area.

"It's probably a wild dog with some wolf in him," she heard Edward say from inside the door. "Keep coming toward me slowly, but keep your eyes on him."

She nodded and sighed as Edward tightly wrapped around her from behind. "Close the door," he murmured against her temple. She did. "I knew you were capable of following commands."

Bella could hear the laughter in his voice. She huffed angrily and feebly struggled against him, causing him to laugh more. Not that she was actually trying to get away. She was in his arms after all. She felt his body stiffen behind her, as if he was aware of how close they were.

"Damn, you smell good," he whispered, his lips on her shoulder. He backed away then, releasing the pleasant but hard grip he had on her hips. "Come on, let's get some dinner started."

"_I'll_ get dinner started," she said a little more curtly than she intended. "You finish checking the damn feed." She walked toward the kitchen and hated that he didn't even attempt to follow.

Neither of them had been sleeping well and along with how bored they were, the fighting was bound to get worse. They were frustrated on many levels and their attraction to each other was not helping. She was determined not to cause a rift between them, but it was getting harder.

She started on dinner and kept a careful record of their food supply. They had plenty of meat in the freezer in the mudroom, but other items were dwindling. It had already been more than a week since Edward arrived and despite the fact that it was only the two of them, she wasn't sure when someone could drop off more supplies.

Another thing she remembered, she'd have to ask her father to have someone other than him pick up her mail at the post office. Someone, namely the killer, would probably see a too full P.O box as highly suspect. One week wasn't enough to fill the box at the post office, normally, but she ordered some things online that were due for delivery soon.

As the sun started to set and evening draped moonlight on the cabin, Bella started to worry about Edward. Was he avoiding her again? She didn't mean to act like a bitch and certainly didn't want him to stay away. She was just frustrated.

The date they had the other night consisted of a candle light dinner, and a movie night complete with popcorn and licorice. She appreciated the effort he made, and he'd been so sweet. She would have to think of a way to make up for her behavior.

She removed the last piece of grilled chicken from the indoor grill cooktop and checked the bread in the oven. After a quick wash of her hands, she walked toward the office to look for Edward. At the door, she carefully looked inside to find him on the cushioned bench—asleep.

Her hand closed over her mouth as she tried to contain her laughter. His feet dangled from one side by at least a foot or more. His arms crossed over his chest, but the book he'd been reading was on the floor.

His jaw was scruffy since he'd gone days without shaving. Bella didn't know which look she preferred. He looked good with and without the beard. Unable to resist, she slipped inside the room and stood over him, near his head. She knelt and studied his face. Even upside down, he was beautiful.

He'd been asleep for a while, his breathing deep and slow. Dinner had taken over an hour to prepare, so he hadn't slept much. She didn't want to wake him, but she knew he'd be angry with himself for falling asleep without checking the perimeter as he did every night.

Gathering her courage, she leaned over him. She pressed her lips to his jaw, another kiss on his chin, her hands lifting to hold his face. He groaned at the next one, that time over his pulse on his neck. He mumbled her name, his hands slowly rising to her hair. She swept her lips over his Adam's apple as he swallowed.

Another sound rumbled in his chest, his fingers tightening in her hair. "Bella," he said hoarsely, her tongue tasting his skin "Christ. You're killing me." She laughed softly, her breaths fanning over his wet skin. "Fuck, just kiss me, please." Her mouth slowly moved to his chin, gently biting him there. His breath shuddered out of him. She sucked and nibbled on his bottom lip.

"Come here," he murmured, his voice low and husky. He pulled her alongside the bench and then on top of him. She stumbled slightly, but he caught her. As her hair curtained around his head, he held her close. "I'm sorry if I've been off for the last few days, Bella."

She shrugged, but her eyes locked with his. "You've changed your mind, maybe?"

He shook his head, his thumbs brushing along her cheeks. "It's not that at all."

"Then what is it? We went on one date the other night and you didn't even kiss me goodnight." He thumbed her pouting lips, focusing on the bottom one. "I thought it went rather well."

"It was perfect, Bella," he replied softly. "I realized that night, that you're making it really easy to fall in love with you."

Edward waited until what he said sunk in. It took a few seconds. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched. "Oh."

"That was my reaction, too. I had to do some thinking."

"About us?" she asked.

He nodded and kissed her then, savoring the softness of her lips, the taste of her. With her stretched on top of him, he felt every inch of her. It felt good to have her in his arms, better than anything he imagined.

"What have you concluded?" she asked as she pulled away to breathe and spread more kisses over his face.

"That it's time for our second date." She dropped her forehead on his shoulder as she groaned. He helped her to her feet when he stood up, trying to stop from laughing. "Go get ready, I'll serve up some dinner and find some music to listen to."

She pouted. "I haven't said yes to a second date." It was his turn to groan as she turned to run out of the room. He couldn't help it. He smacked her cute ass that was snug in a pair of jeans. Wide-eyed and flushed, she faced him, but then she smirked.

Fuck, he was in so much trouble with her. Falling in love shouldn't be that easy, but it seemed to be with her. The problem was Edward realized that to give their relationship a chance and to keep her alive, he'd have to leave her.

He had to find the killer before it was too late. He was the perfect bait.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

* * *

With Bella's hand safely enclosed in Edward's, they decided to take a walk outside after dinner. Though the evening air held a chill, it wasn't bad and it gave him an excuse to wrap his arm around her.

She didn't seem to mind.

Before dinner, they had strictly agreed that anything about the case and her ability was off topic for the night. They needed a break from the stress that surrounded all that, and instead spent most of their meal discussing what Edward had been up to since she last seen him.

Bella had little to contribute in the subject matter, but that hadn't stopped him from asking questions. He finally found out who Jacob was, an old friend, and felt relieved by her answer. Though uncomfortable, they discussed their pasts, including relationships. It was necessary, but in the end, they discovered that neither of them had been in a real one.

They would learn together.

After a few minutes, a call for Bella interrupted their walk and the discussion they continued to have since dinner.

She was worried about her dog, Rufus. He'd been there the night Edward arrived, but hardly made a sound the whole night. The dog had left with Charlie for what was supposed to be a routine checkup at the vet, only to require a biopsy and surgery to remove a small tumor in his stomach that she originally thought was a sore. Thankfully, Billy, an old family friend of the Swans and Jacob's father, was taking good care of Rufus as he recovered.

"Thanks, Billy," Bella whispered as she spoke to him using Garrett's secured phone. "I know dad's been busy. Thanks for taking him in for the follow up. Yeah, we're doing okay out here, plenty of meat in the freezer." She laughed softly. "I'll be sure to tell Edward about the pond. Talk to you tomorrow. Tell Jake I said hello."

She ended her call, handing Edward the phone. He slipped it into the pocket of his flannel shirt and squeezed her hand. She was quiet, as she usually was after she spoke to others in the "outside world" as she called it.

"I'm just glad Rufus is okay," she said softly, looking up at him. The sunlight was gone, but the barely there moon made her eyes almost shine under its light.

"Damn, you're beautiful."

She blushed a little, a soft pink tinging her cheeks and even her lips. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"It's not," he said, unable to hold back a small groan. "And it is. Makes being the good guy harder." She laughed and he knew exactly where her mind had gone. He pulled her around and into his arms. "My being_ hard_ is not funny."

His words made her laugh more.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders, her incredible mouth less than an inch away. She was so petite, that the tips of her shoes brushed his shins as he lifted her, an arm under her ass. Her stature, along with the softness of her breasts pressed against his chest, was very appealing.

He hummed deeply. "I like how small you are." She cocked an eyebrow, indicating she didn't find that a compliment. "I'm serious."

"It makes you feel manlier," she said, rolling her eyes. "Then again, I like how you seem to hover and be all protective of me." At that moment, neither could forget he was armed and held a device that would tell them if something tripped a sensor in the security system.

"See," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "There are many advantages to my size."

She sighed as if what he said bored her. "I guess, besides, our height differences won't mean much in bed. So I've heard and read."

She laughed at his half-groan and chuckle, his hands quickly adjusting her legs to wrap around his hips. A moan slipped from between her parted lips, her tongue peeking out to sweep across them. Fingers, as delicate and soft as he imagined, combed through his hair, eliciting a shiver of desire.

"We're supposed to be taking a walk," he murmured, pressing his mouth to the curve between her neck and shoulder. Her delicately fragranced skin was especially potent there. She smelled like black cherries, vanilla, and something completely Bella.

"You are still walking," she whispered, emphasizing her words with a roll of her hips. He grunted, his hands immediately moving from her hips and curving over her ass.

"Direct me toward the pond," he said roughly, still sampling her skin along her shoulder.

Since his arrival, he always remained within the lighted perimeter of the property. There hadn't been much of a chance to explore with all the drizzle and rain in the last few days. From what Garrett had told Edward, the cabin sat on almost fifty acres of land. Along the back of the cleared land, there was a small, lighted entrance to a hiking trail.

It was hard to concentrate on walking when Bella's mouth was torturing him with little sucks, nips, and kisses along his neck and jaw. She softly whispered directions near his ear, as she sucked lightly on a spot below it.

She was driving him crazy.

Edward carried her toward their destination. It was a natural pond, a bit larger than a good size pool. The long pier creaked beneath his boots as he put Bella down on her feet. Together they lit two propane lanterns that were already near the end of the pier. They sat there, but didn't dare put their feet in the water. It was too cold for that.

She pointed to a pair of luminescent eyes across the pond, a small whine and then a howl indicated the lone wolf she befriended was near.

A light breeze, chillier under the darkening night had Edward pulling Bella into his arms and onto his lap. They sat, watched a sliver of the moon fall victim to the clouded sky, only to peek out minutes later. They whispered to each other, mostly about the place she made her home.

"You mean prison," she murmured softly. "I can hear it in your voice."

He sighed, sliding his hand along the side of her thigh. Something he'd done for several minutes as the wind picked up.

"I'm sorry," he replied, shrugged. "I can't help but feel that way. You'll leave this place, won't you? After this is over?"

Her fingers twisted in his shirt over his heart. "I don't know."

It was too soon to ask he knew, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to know. "Would you for me?"

"I did already," she whispered, her breath fanning softly along his jaw. The drop of temperature made it visible. He pulled her closer. They needed to go back to the cabin, but he needed an answer from her.

"That was to save me," he said, looking into her eyes.

She met his gaze head on as she replied, "I would leave to save you again in a heartbeat."

His eyes roamed over every inch of her face, seeing no deception or nervousness. There was only determination, longing, and a woman he already was half-way in love with, and he probably had been for years.

His slightly calloused fingers skimmed along her jaw and cheek, smiling when a shiver moved through her. He thought it had little to do with the cold.

"After all this is over we'll figure things out," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her. Her lips warm and soft, perfect. "Until then, let's just let this progress like it should, naturally."

"I'd like that," she murmured, pulling him down for another kiss.

After a few minutes of whispered words, soft kisses and caresses, they made their way back to the cabin, still linked by their hands. Before they reached the porch, a sound from the east drew their attention, a mournful wail from the lone wolf she left food for since it first came onto the property. Seconds later the sky opened up and poured rain down over them.

Bella yelped as she started to run, slipping on some of the grass. Laughing, Edward caught her, his hands on her hips and helped her up the stairs to the porch. By the time they reached cover, they were drenched from head to toe.

As she ran toward her bedroom to change into dry clothes, Edward reset the alarm and stopped to put some more wood in the fireplace. He toed off his boots, thankful that his socks were still dry. He left his weapons nearby. Next, he pulled the hem of his shirts and removed both quickly, cursing when his clothes were dripping on the floor.

"No big deal," Bella said as she entered the living room. She was drying her hair with a towel, dressed in a simple green robe that reached her knees, holding a pair of grey leg warmers. There seemed to be miles of long legs and beautiful skin. "I'll take care of it, you go dry up."

He nodded, swallowing deeply, at a loss for words.

"And Edward," she called back as she bent to dry the floor. The robe's hem fell just under the curve of her ass and made her look positively indecent. "You can leave the shirt off if you'd like."

He shook his head as he walked toward his room. "The woman is going to kill me." Changing quickly, he checked the system and saw that nothing stirred outside bigger than Bella's wolf. At least he wouldn't wake up ten times a night due to a deer or raccoon.

He returned to the living room. Music filtered through her stereo, as she sat on the couch. "I'm still cold," she murmured, slipping on her leg warmers.

Unable to resist the urge as the music played a slow tune, he offered his hand. "Then let's warm up with a dance."

Bella smiled up at him, placing her hand in his. It was hard to keep her eyes on his face and not on his bare chest. He was dressed in only dark jeans and socks, and she slowly rose to her feet. He seemed in no hurry to pull her close, but that was likely because his eyes lingered on her thighs. Her skin was bare between the hem of her robe and the tops of her leg warmers she knitted herself. She internally cursed her need to blush as he thoroughly looked at her.

Hoping to distract him, she raised to the tips of her toes to press a soft kiss on his chin. Immediately, his arms wrapped around her waist, his fingers spreading across her lower back. His thumbs rubbed soothingly along her hip, almost tickling her.

She wanted to feel his hands on her skin. Her breath hitched as he pressed her closer, the fabric of her robe rubbed against her sensitive nipples. She wanted him, wanted this with him. Her hands slowly swept up his back and she felt the vibration of a silent groan against her cheek. A smile spread, and she felt good, knowing that he wanted her, too.

Edward tried to keep himself in check, but it was becoming harder with every breath she took. Eyes closed, he rested his cheek on the top of her head. The next song that played was another slow song.

"I think you're trying to seduce me," he whispered, his hands sweeping up her back and into her hair, to cradle her face.

She didn't attempt to lie, since he knew she was terrible at it. "Is it working?" she asked softly, her smile was small, and a little nervous.

Everything she did indicated she was ready to move forward, but there were brief glimpses of fear in her eyes. She wasn't quite ready, but almost. There was no way he'd tell her no either. Rejection was the last thing he wanted her to feel.

_Take it slow, _he told himself.

"Yes," he whispered, bending slightly to kiss her properly. With the first touch of his lips on hers, he captured her next breath. He felt her rise to her toes and offered her a little help. She moaned softly as his hands moved over her, cupping her ass and pulling her up against him.

Breathless and wanting, they slowly tumbled onto the rug near the fireplace. He grabbed the two blankets from the couch beside them, as she pulled down the few decorated pillows to cushion the floor further. He watched, as the firelight seemed to dance across her eyes.

Most of the fear seemed to have left her, as anticipation and instinct had her pulling him down over her.

"We're taking things slow tonight, Bella," he whispered, emphasizing his words with the tender kiss. "It's about you."

She shook her head, stubborn as ever. "No, us, because that's the way it should be," she said.

Edward exhaled sharply. "We have no form of protection here," he indicated and shrugged. "I checked." He looked through almost every room in the house besides Bella's and he cursed the fact he stopped carrying a condom in his wallet like he used to.

Her eyes widened slightly, coloring her cheeks more than the fire and her arousal had already done. "I have some in my room."

He cocked an eyebrow in question, but she did not attempt to clarify. "Bella?"

She huffed, causing some of her hair to fall away from her face. "Jake thought Garrett liked me," she murmured, averting her eyes, embarrassed.

From what Bella had told him about her friend Jacob, nothing developed further than friendship between them. From what little interaction he'd seen between her and Garrett, it seemed only like borderline friendship, held back because of what he was, an agent on _her _case.

She continued, lazily playing with his chest hair. Her touch made it hard to concentrate. "I told him it wasn't going to happen. I wasn't interested in him that way either."

Edward smiled down at her, keeping most of his weight on his forearms. "Good to know there's no competition."

"None," she said, smiling. "Now, I'm going to get one." He sat back and allowed her to get up, though he kept his hands on her for as long as he could. On her thighs, her arms, her ass, causing her to moan and pausing long enough for another deep kiss. She rose to feet and ran toward her room, dropping her robe behind her.

He groaned at the view it provided, and heard her laugh from down the hall. The fear in her eyes was gone, replaced by determination and a longing to love and feel something other than terror.

He understood that, because he wanted it, too. However, he had to grasp for some control.

It was her first time. He learned during their uncomfortable conversation earlier, that her hymen was no longer intact, due to an over eager ex-boyfriend and his fingers. A part of Edward wanted to find the asshole and kick his ass for making her cry that night, and for being the first to touch her intimately.

That wasn't the only reason he had to control his needs. It had also been almost a year since he indulged in sex. The last was a quick fumbling in a bathroom bar with someone he hadn't bothered to learn her name.

Since before Rosalie's murder, he stayed away from all romantic entanglements. He only slept with a woman once or twice, moving on quickly. Even then, it wasn't more than once or twice a month, if that. He'd been too busy with college, then molding his career, and eventually several high profile cases. There had been little time for anything else, and he liked it that way, until now.

Could he be what she needed?

She said she couldn't make promises, but did that mean she wanted no commitment from him? No, she did, he knew that, even if she didn't. He told her that she was making it too easy to fall in love with her, and she didn't object to the idea of it.

"Fuck," he hissed to himself. "Get a grip." His head rested on one of the pillows, the light from the fire drew shadows on the ceiling. His eyes closed as he waited, wondering briefly what was taking her so long.

Before he could call out to her, he heard a floorboard creek and then he felt her hand slide along his thigh. His eyes snapped open, watching as she slowly bent to press a kiss to his abdomen where her hand rested. Soft curses flew from his mouth as she continued the delicious torture.

She nipped playfully near the waistband of his pants to gain his attention. His eyes had closed once again and had to force them open. She pulled his fly apart to reveal he wore nothing beneath. She moaned, her breath fanning along his sensitive skin. His hips rose to assist her, his pants and socks tossed toward the couch.

Her eyes, wide and beautiful, were transfixed on his lower body, specifically one part of it. It made him twitch, which made her laugh. She seemed young to find such joy in the simplest of his reactions. However, he loved watching her smile and laugh. Her hands, fingers, and lips were as curious as her eyes, moving over him slowly, enough to pull a tortured moan from him.

There was no way he'd last if she put her mouth on him, as she seemed to want to do. His hands found purchase under her arms, hauling her over his body. That earned him a startled yelp. He quickly flipped their bodies, so she laid beneath him, naked, beautiful and breathtakingly open to his every whim and desire.

She gasped as he allowed his body to come into full contact with her. Her responses to his touch excited him. "Edward," she said, his name was a breathless plea. He kissed her again, savoring her taste and feel of her so close.

With her, there was no such thing as close enough.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

* * *

Bella's lips were hot beneath Edward's tongue and teeth, nipping gently on the pink, soft skin. She whispered his name and he captured her next breath with another kiss. His hands lingered on her face for a few moments, before brushing them slowly along her neck and shoulders.

Edward didn't want to miss one inch of her skin. He wanted to touch all of her. She sighed as he pulled away to press soft kisses all over her face. With every touch of his mouth, his hands explored her body. Her shoulders were smooth and speckled with dark cinnamon-colored freckles. His fingers swept over a small raspberry shaped birthmark on her collarbone, kissing it, too.

Her back arched when his tongue gently teased one of her nipples, flicking it gently. It hardened further, and he took the sweet tip between his lips. She cried out, her fingers tightening in his hair. Unbelievably hard, Edward sought friction against her thigh. At the touch, her slim legs wrapped around his hips, bringing him that much closer to her.

_Slow_, he reminded himself. He refocused his attention on her and her pretty breasts in his hands, under his mouth and tongue.

"Relax, Bella," he said softly. His palm skimmed down one of her thighs, loosening her grip on his hips. She blushed beneath his touch as his fingers danced along her inner thigh on the return trip up her sides. His mouth joined them, under her breasts and further below.

"That's it," he murmured, humming as his lips tested the sensitivity of her abdomen. The small indentation of her navel trembled as she hissed. His hands spanned her hips easily and gently he bit her stomach, making her laugh and relax further.

He watched her face as his fingers slipped between her thighs. She said his name softly, her eyes closing and giving herself fully to the pleasure of his touch. She was warm, wet, and ready. He played her until her gasps and moans of his name were an incoherent song, but still lovely.

Bella cried out, "Please." Her hands grasped his shoulders, his back, whatever she could reach. He seemed to like her exploring fingers, and the way she tugged on his hair. She wanted him closer, needed him inside her.

Edward answered her cry with another kiss, struggling with the condom, but was over her body in moments. His lips were on hers and poised to enter. Her eyes wide and bright in the firelight, they reflected every emotion he felt at that moment. The attraction between wasn't some fling or temporary.

It was important and so much more.

Her lashes fluttered, her breath hitched as he slowly slid inside her. His body shook with the strain to be gentle and the incredible feeling of being with her. "God," he groaned, dropping his forehead against her cheek, breathless. "You feel so good, angel."

She shifted slightly, only to make them both moan in unison. She brought him that much deeper.

Her soft hands held on to him harder, fingerprints and nails clinging into his skin like a brand. He eased away, eliciting a protest and a plea for more. He captured her hands in his, intertwined their fingers, and pushed inside a little harder. Her eyes rolled back and she whimpered his name.

She was close before his need to be inside her took over, his desire too hard to ignore. He strove to get her there again. His thrusts were slow and shallow, allowing her body to acclimate to him. It also gave him time to adjust, since it had been too long for him. Within a few strokes, she tentatively met his hips, allowing him to deepen his strokes.

Within a few minutes she was there, he felt it as her body tensed around him. It was pure love, lust, and strength as she clenched every muscle in need and desperation. Her body, slick and warm quaked beneath his. Quickening his strokes, he angled his hips and struggled to maintain control. His hand slipped between them, her answering moan near his ear.

"Edward," she whispered, pulling his mouth to hers. Breathlessly, she said his name repeatedly, until she shattered. He contained her cry with another kiss. He pumped harder and deeper, pulling away from her mouth to groan against her shoulder, shuddering in her arms soon after her.

Breathless as they lay there, Edward gathered her close, her head on his chest. His heart still beat frantically, as he spread a blanket over their bodies. She hummed, his hands running down her back to soothe her for a few moments.

"Are you all right?" he asked, hoping he hadn't hurt her.

"I'm perfect." Her voice was nearly a whisper, as she pressed a kiss to his chest. She looked up at him, eyes still bright. "It was everything I imagined it would be."

He cocked an eyebrow in surprise. "You imagined us together, like that?" She blushed a little, but nodded in response. "Since I got here?" She shook her head. He cursed, knowing she meant when they were younger. "You were jailbait, but I admit, I harbored a fantasy or two then. I just didn't let them last for long because it would've only made it harder to resist you."

She tapped her fingers over his chest. "I know. I would've never gone after you, even if you had given me any indication you wanted me."

"Why? Don't get me wrong, its good you didn't try. I would've gave in if you had, eventually." Edward didn't doubt that for a second. "But why do you feel that way?"

"You were coming home less and less, and I guess I thought, if it didn't work out between us, you'd stop coming all together." Her smile fell, before continuing. "I couldn't do that to Rosalie."

"You were a good friend," he replied after several moments of silence.

Edward contemplated what she said and she was right. If they had tried to make a romantic connection then, it could've ended badly because of various obstacles. His visits home would've been less frequent once it had ended.

After several minutes, he felt uncomfortable as the need to dispose the condom made itself known. "I'll be right back." He moved away from her, grabbed a weapon, and headed toward the bathroom to clean up.

A minute later, out in the hall, Bella joined him. Despite the sheet draped around her, she wrapped her arms around him. "Will you take a shower with me?" she asked nervously.

He expected shyness and some awkwardness after making love for the first time, but her willingness to relax astounded him. His fingers drifted down her spine before he pulled the sheet away and led her toward her master bathroom once he grabbed his weapons.

Under the hot spray of the shower and the steam that billowed around them, they took more pleasure in each other's touch. Edward hoped he had time to explore and indulge in Bella before reality intruded.

~oOo~

Charlie's patience was wearing thin. Garrett was driving him to distraction with his constant pacing. The force was spread thin, despite the few more agents the FBI sent to help with the serial killer case. Though he wasn't directly involved, Garrett insisted on an office in his sheriff's station.

Garrett let out a frustrated sound as he loosened his tie. "There's been no activity with the judge's daughter. It's been almost a week already. Either the killer is messing with Bella's head or she read the details wrong."

"It's possible," was Charlie's reply as the phone rang. He lifted it and listened for several moments, his brow furrowing with every word he heard. Garrett waited patiently, aware that something important had happened.

As Charlie hung up the phone a minute later, he nearly folded under the pressure of what he had to do. His hand rubbed over his face roughly, a sob nearly escaping him. He didn't want to face what had to happen.

"What is it, Charlie?" Garrett asked, taking a seat, armed with a small digital recorder.

Charlie lifted his head, exposing the torment in his eyes. "That was one of my men." Two of his own were out along with two agents searching the surrounding area where the killer buried Rosalie and Edward. "They said they just discovered where Bella had been buried seven years ago."

"This could give us the answers we're looking for," Garrett stated, checking his weapon and standing. He'd be on the road within a minute.

"It also means that I have to call Bella," Charlie said. "She's going to have to leave the house."

"Fuck," Garrett hissed as he ran a rough hand over his face. The last time they tried to help her leave her home, she panicked to the point of violence. If Alice hadn't been there to sedate her, Garrett and Jacob would've suffered worse than a few scratches. "Don't call her until we know for sure."

Charlie nodded and grabbed his weapon. It was time to head out.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty  
**

* * *

Charlie barely heard the urgent voices of the FBI agents Alistair and Garrett over the sound rushing in his ears. His blood quickened in his veins as he fought to breathe. Bending at the waist, he tried to gain control.

That was hard to do when faced with the possibility of losing your child. Even though he knew Bella was safe miles away, the memory of her disappearance plagued him. Hundreds of photos lay in the custom, hardwood coffin the killer had made with his own two hands to bury his daughter years before.

The pictures lay in the shape of body, layers upon layers of them. Several of the pictures appeared as if the killer followed her around town. He had for _years _before he'd taken her. Charlie's heart hurt from the guilt he felt. How could he not know that some fucking sick bastard was watching his daughter?

Other questions arose just as quickly, all pertaining to the case. Ones he'd asked thousands of times throughout the years. Why her? What was it about Bella that caused this man to attempt murder in such a manner? What was the connection between the killer and his daughter? They remained unanswered since her kidnapping, would they find something new now?

Through every layer of pictures, the images worsened, until they reached the ones taken on the day of her kidnapping. The killer had clicked away as his beautiful daughter stared at him with wide-eyes, mouth gagged, yet no tears fell. He saw the fear, but there was anger too. He saw it in the clench of her jaw, the furrow of her brow.

She was his little fighter, had been since the day she was born five weeks early.

In several pictures, it was obvious she kicked or punched her kidnapper every chance she had. It wasn't until he saw the blood in the photos that Charlie lost his dinner in a bush under a silver of moonlight and a canopy of stars. It was the exact moment the fear and worry of that time hit him hard.

Charlie remembered the head wound Bella had when she was found. It was the cause of her concussion when she arrived. It appeared that the killer had hit her when she started to fight, and hard enough to fracture her skull. Yet, she somehow clawed and dug herself out, only to walk for miles to where someone found her by the road.

Alistair continued to look through the photos with gloved fingers, finding the bottom layer. Those were the worst, pictures of Bella's prone form, in the fucking coffin, with her eyes closed.

She looked dead.

Charlie had to remind himself; _it was years ago, she's alive. She's alive. _

With shaky fingers, as dawn approached, Charlie had to make the call that would bring his daughter out to the open again.

"Charlie," Garrett called out, before he could dial. "This was at the bottom with the others." He held a photo, a Polaroid like the others, but it appeared newer. His eyes widened at the implications of it inside of a burial site from seven years before. "He wanted us to find it, Charlie. He was the one that unearthed it again, so that it would appear suspicious to our men searching the area."

"Why?"

Garrett could only shrug in response. "Hopefully forensics will shed some light." His gazed dropped down to the cell phone in Charlie's hand. "Are you going to call them?"

Charlie nodded automatically and pulled out his phone.

~oOo~

Edward hadn't been able to fall asleep, even though he was exhausted. After their shower, they realized they were starving for some food again and ate. He had hoped that there would be no awkwardness after. There wasn't. They watched a movie and she waited patiently as he checked the perimeter and made calls to Garrett and Charlie.

Later that night, she asked him to join her in bed. He'd never _slept_ with someone else in one. As she lay beside him, he wouldn't have traded places with anyone. Her sweet, warm breath fanned over his chest, her leg lay across both of his and her arm draped over his waist.

He should be uncomfortable, instead he felt good. There were no regrets about what happened. He would never forget their time together and hoped for more nights with her. A part of him knew it wasn't smart to think of the future when it was so uncertain.

Dawn approached a few hours later as sunlight speared through one of the windows in the bedroom. Edward rubbed a hand over his face, hoping the lack of sleep wouldn't fuck up his mood. He was a cranky SOB when he hadn't slept or had his morning coffee.

He felt Bella stir.

"Edward," she murmured. Her voice was rough with sleepiness as she nuzzled his chest.

He smiled. Who could be in a bad mood with a beautiful woman beside him? He couldn't resist touching her. Her hair smelled of jasmine and coconuts, silky as he swept his lips over her forehead. He continued over one soft, rosy cheek and finally, he reached her lips. She responded with a small moan, her hand on his chest twitching once before skimming along his shoulder and neck to cup his jaw. "You smell good." Another kiss and she added, "Taste good, too."

He chuckled and continued to indulge on her sweet confessions. A few minutes later, the cell phone chimed on the nightstand nearby, causing him to curse. She sighed and tried to smile, but they both knew a call at that hour, never meant anything good.

"Yeah," he answered. His gaze remained on Bella's sweet face.

"Edward," Charlie said. Her heard the stress in the man's voice and tried to prepare himself to the bad news he undoubtedly would receive.

"Charlie."

Edward watched as Bella clutched the sheet to her bare chest and her brow etched with worry. He listened to Charlie, trying to keep his emotions from seeping through. He kept his expression neutral, and yet, from the way she blanched, he knew she saw right through it.

After the call ended, Edward pulled Bella into his arms. He needed her close, even if only for a few moments. He hated what the news could do to her.

"Tell me," she urged, her lashes fluttering against his shoulder. "Just tell me."

"They found the site where you were buried."

~oOo~

Bella tried not to think and made herself relax. She tuned out the rest of the world and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

"How are you doing?" Edward asked.

She shrugged, unable to voice her worries. It was important for her to go to the crime scene, and knew it could help trigger her memories. However, a part of her, likely the same one that kept her from leaving her property, didn't want to remember. The light scars on her arms and legs were all horrible gifts from the time of her kidnapping. Her nails had taken months to grow back.

That thought only made the panic squeeze her chest and her mouth achingly dry.

"You're doing beautifully," Edward whispered as he helped her into the truck. She only nodded again, catching her reflection in the side mirror. Gone was her brown and red hair, replaced by black, shiny strands. They were taking every precaution and dying her hair was paramount in helping keep her identity. Thankfully, Garrett had prepared for something like this and had left a bag with all the essentials of disguising herself. The length was thankfully the same since she wore it shorter when she was younger.

Edward had reassured her that the entire area was safe and the killer was not watching the burial site. If that was the case, she wanted to see if she could help. She'd do anything to prevent another to fall victim to the killer.

The truck rumbled and bounced along the dirt road a minute later, away from her home, and toward…danger. Panic squeezed her chest tightly.

Edward watched Bella from the corner of his eye, and saw that her chest was rising and falling too fast. He recognized the signs of a possible panic attack since they left the house. He hoped that she could work through it, but it was obvious it was too much for her.

He pulled over, turned off the truck, and cradled her in his lap. "Breathe, baby." Her small hands fisted his shirt, her breaths quick and hot, fanning over his cheek. "Come on, Bella. Take a deep breath."

She looked up at him, and with her gaze on his face, she did as he asked. The breath shuddered out of her, the tremor moving through her entire body. Her eyes, wide and shiny from remnant tears, she worked hard to take another breath.

"That's it, love," he murmured, taking her hand and placing it on his chest. "Work to get your heartbeat to match mine." He smiled down at her. "I'm so fucking proud of you, Bella. We're almost to the exit. Did you see how far you've come?"

"Not far enough," she gasped. Her bottom lip and chin trembling, as more tears lingered on her lashes.

"You don't have to go," he said in reply. "The pictures _can _be enough."

She shook her head. "Let's go, but can I…" she looked away, blushing a little.

"What is it?" He smoothed sweat-dampened hair from her face, kissed her lips gently. "I'll do anything to make this easier.

"Can I sit beside you?"

He hugged her tighter, nodding. "That's an easy one."

It took another ten minutes before she felt good enough to try again. "Close your eyes," Edward suggested.

She shook her head. "The closer we get, maybe I'll recognize the area."

Edward only nodded and drove onto the road, away from Bella's home. It felt strange that all he wanted to do was turn around, and return to the warmth and safety of her house. He didn't want her in harm's reach. Taking her to where she almost died, would undoubtedly be harmful.

"How are you doing?" he asked, aware of her hand on his thigh. She seemed to need some kind of contact with him at times like these. The warmth of her against his side was soothing to him, too. He checked his phone, they were already a few miles from home, and she was doing very well.

"I'm okay." He heard the fear that still gripped her, but there was determination there, too. "Keep going."

It had taken well over an hour to reach their destination; almost twice as long as needed. He had to stop once more to get Bella's breathing under control again. From the look on her face, she was in pain. She didn't complain, or ask to turn back.

Edward saw her rub her chest. All that harsh breathing and panic attacks were taking a toll. "We're going back," he said, pressing the signal to perform a U-turn.

"No!" She leveled him with a narrowed gaze. "We're almost there and I'll be fine."

He shook his head. "I see you're as stubborn as always."

"Of course," she said, rolling her eyes and lifting her thumb to her mouth to bite her nail. An ugly habit, but one he wouldn't complain about when she was obviously worried. "You'll stay with me, right?"

He held her hand. "I won't leave you alone."

~oOo~

Edward held her hand while walking toward the bright lights and several voices ahead of them. Mark, one of his former co-workers and Charlie's deputy led the way.

"Anything?" he asked softly, squeezing Bella's hand. She only shook her head in response, biting her thumbnail again.

Something was bothering him. He wasn't sure how Charlie would react to how close he'd gotten to his daughter. Normally, he'd suggest they hide their relationship for a while. The problem was that there was no way Edward wanted to let go of her, or act indifferently toward her because of it. It would hurt her and it was one thing he wanted to avoid at all costs. She'd been through enough. Charlie would just have to get over it, he had in essence approved of them anyway. Edward hoped for the best.

The search team and FBI task force all stood aside, parting as Bella and Edward walked closer. Edward's heart thundered in his chest, aware that the scene was too familiar to his own. One he hadn't visited yet and had only seen it through pictures since it happened. If he felt like this, he could only imagine how Bella must feel.

"We have pictures of the exact layout of every layer of photographs, and there are six hundred forty-three pictures," Garrett said as he and Charlie flanked them, walking closer to the site.

"That's a lot of film," Edward indicated. "Someone would probably remember selling that much Polaroid film, possibly even seven years ago."

"We have some men on that," Charlie stated, watching his daughter carefully. "You all right, Bells?" She only nodded in response, as she edged closer to the hole in the ground.

The lid of the custom pine box lay nearby, in pieces. Decay had blackened the cheap wood. Long scratches in groups of three and four etched the surface of the largest piece, some blood, too.

"Fuck," Edward hissed, tugging at his hair. He wanted to go to Bella, but paralysis struck him. Seeing the proof of her suffering, of what happened to her at seventeen, hurt him. To think that she'd gone through even a minute of what he had nearly brought him to his knees. Not only Bella, but his sister, too, they had to have been so fucking scared.

It also made him rage. He wanted to find the bastard that did this to her, to his sister and all the others. Kill him with his bare hands.

"We also found this picture inside," Garret said softly, his eyes on Bella as he handed over a picture in a clear evidence bag.

Edward angled the picture toward the light, his eyes widening. "This was in there, too?" Charlie and Garrett nodded. "Was it at the very top?"

"No, toward the bottom," Charlie replied.

Edward sucked in a breath and cursed as he exhaled. "The fucker returned to the scene of his first crime." He looked at the agents and Charlie, thinking through a few things. "Is anyone watching my scene?"

"We sent a couple of agents out there a few minutes ago," Charlie said, nodding. "But there hasn't been anyone out there for the past two days. If he's been there, they'll find something."

The man power they had was limited. "Fucking budget cuts," Edward said through gritted teeth. "I'll have to check it out, too. Maybe it'll trigger something. I was partially coherent as he dragged me through the forest."

Not that he remembered most of it.

Before the agents or Charlie could say another word, Bella screamed. Edward scrambled, falling to his knees directly behind her. She was rigid, her breath harsh once again. From the vacant expression on her face, she was having one of her episodes.

He looked over his shoulder to Garrett and Charlie, making it clear they needed to move the others out immediately.

"Tell me what you see, baby," he whispered softly, hoping no one else heard him. Not all of the men or women there knew of her connection to the killer. Only thought she was a consultant.

"He's grabbed another victim," she replied, whimpering as she struggled to breathe. "Not the judge's daughter. Not the judge's daughter."

Edward cursed, having confirmed one of his fears. He held her close as she continued to murmur details, until she went limp in his arms. Her head lulled to the side against his forearm, her eyes fluttering closed, but said one last thing. "I think he tricked me."

Edward was afraid it was a possibility and now she confirmed it. The killer led them on a wild goose chase, having them watch the judge's daughter after Bella's vision. It was the perfect distraction. Now they had to race against the clock to find the real victim.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One  
**

* * *

Edward pulled her in his arms, aware of the curious onlookers. The media had yet to arrive. It was something to be thankful for, at least.

"We have some time to find her, Bells," her father said, taking the picture from Edward's hand. Her eyes focused on the evidence bag exchange, grabbing it before it was out of reach.

"Oh my God," she whispered and fought Edward's hold. "Let me down." The second her feet touched the ground, her knees gave out and she crawled to the nearest bush. She heard them cry out for her, trying to reach for her. To pick her off the ground, but she waved them away. She gagged and cried as Edward knelt beside her, "He took a picture of you in that box!"

Edward rubbed her back, holding her hair up. "You weren't meant to see it, Bella." Her father handed her a bottle of water. Edward watched as tears fell streaked down her cheeks, the fear, and pain evident her in dark eyes. She looked at her father and then at him.

"You okay?" He shrugged in response. It hadn't been easy to see a picture. She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Get me out of here," she whispered softly against his ear, and he couldn't help but do as she asked.

Edward carried her to her truck, staying close to it but far enough to talk with the others. Bella rocked back and forth in the passenger seat.

"Have to find her," she repeated in a desperate whisper after thirty minutes, drawing their attention. Charlie and Garrett tried to talk to her, but Edward knew she was far from hearing a word they said.

"That's enough," he said heatedly. "She's not going to tell us anything when she's like this."

He had to take her away from the staring and questioning eyes. Away from the memories that bombarded her of a horrifying event in her past. If the thought of stepping onto his burial site made his stomach churn and his knees shake, he could only imagine what it would feel like for her.

Her ability seemed to heighten her fear. It was time to leave.

Charlie cocked an eyebrow in question, his eyes dropping to Edward's hand on his daughter's back. It ran up and down the middle, only stopping long enough for him to whisper something in her ear. It appeared that he only offered comfort, but his hard glare when he looked up again made Charlie question his level of protection. This was much more than that and he was determined to find out what it was.

Edward had asked permission to see her, but the connection he was witnessing was strong already.

"If he's just taken her, we have only until nightfall by the time he gets her to the location of where he'll bury her. You can't take her back to the cabin," Charlie stated firmly. "I'm only doing this for her. I know if she dies, Bella will never come out of that." He pointed at his daughter, her rocking intensifying with every word he said.

"Shut up!" she screamed, turning the heads of those on the scene. She didn't care. "I need to leave here! Edward, just drive. I'll know, I'll know when I'm close." Edward circled the truck without a second thought.

Charlie felt his heart race and break at the same time. He hated that he had to push, but he already knew the truth. She would never leave the cabin in the woods if the woman died. He looked up and saw the concern in Edward's gaze. His eyes were on her, as if he couldn't look away. He appeared as scared as she was, but for different reasons.

She feared for her friend, he feared for Bella's well-being and state of mind.

Charlie rubbed a hand over his face, tugging at his hair for a moment. The choice was out of his hands, it now lay in theirs.

"We'll be right behind you," he said, tapping the door twice. He pushed away, stopping Garrett from pursuing them.

Edward nodded, started the truck, and left them behind. The red and blue lights from some of the police cruisers and trucks still bounced off the mirrors as he drove away, but soon they disappeared, swallowed up by the forest. It wasn't until they reached the highway that she finally took in a deep breath.

"North," she gasped, pointing. "Find a secluded spot, please, a few miles away please."

Edward only nodded and did as she asked. The minutes passed too fucking slow for him, watching her struggle through her fear, and emotions. All he wanted was to hold her, to take her away from it all.

However, even as those thoughts came to mind, he knew he had to hold that instinct back. Wasn't it similar to Bella hiding from the world? For years, the fear kept her from stepping outside the bubble she created in the remote woods.

There she was safe from the terror of those that sought to hurt or exploit her. Yet, she closed herself from the world, from her fears. He couldn't let that happen anymore. He wouldn't push her, since that would only serve to prove her right and break the tentative trust between them. He would encourage and pull back when he knew it was too much.

He could do that for her, because she meant so much more to him than he thought possible. All of that, his feelings and his wishes for a future had to wait.

They had to save the latest victim first.

~oOo~

There was a chill in the air, crisp and biting on one's face. Yet, he felt nothing. Numb to anything, but the task ahead. The woman had long since stopped whimpering and screaming, the drug paralyzing her body.

She was aware of everything, of the way the wind felt against her skin. The _thump thump _of her heart rushed through her ears, as clear as the sound of his footsteps. The scents of wet dirt and forest decay were undoubtedly pungent.

As he intended, it wouldn't be a thrill or satisfying if she wasn't aware. He wanted her to know that as he carried her to her deathbed.

Her seemingly blank eyes stared at the canopy overhead, brief glimpses of the starry night sky her only solace as she undoubtedly prayed. Her wishes, desires, and silent words ignored by some god as it had so often happened to him. Tears leaked down from each corner of her mascara-smudged eyes, falling down similar paths toward her neck and hair.

The crack of a tree branch would periodically break the silence around them. He was methodical in his approach, knew where his every footstep needed to land. His retreat would be along the same path, only backward. Soon, and he'd be able to sit back and watch as they scrambled to save her.

Once they reached their destination, he kept his face mostly hidden from her. The likelihood that she'd survive was little, but he miscalculated more than once. The thought made his hands tighten around her body making her whimper. The sound brought him back to the present, away from those that escaped his punishment.

He laid her on the plastic he set up earlier and pulled out a syringe from an inner pocket in his jacket. Her hazel eyes widened slightly, an indication that the drug was wearing away.

No matter, he thought, soon she'd sleep. Only for a little while, then she'd awaken in a pine box of his own making.

"We'll have a little talk soon, Doc."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

* * *

For the past hour, Jasper Whitlock awaited news, stuck at an airport halfway across the country while his fiancée was missing back home. During a layover in Chicago, two FBI agents approached him in the lounge and told him about her kidnapping.

The agents were accompanying him on the next available flight to Seattle. However, it would be hours before he'd reach home. The mere thought that Alice was in the hands of a serial killer made his heart clench painfully and his blood turn cold. He simply could not live in a world without the always vibrant and vivacious Alice in his life. She'd been his rock through the worst part of his life.

The agents told him everything they could. He'd never knew about Bella, due to Alice's code of ethics and doctor/patient confidentially agreement, once Charlie brought her in. He had known she held a secret close to her heart for the last four years. Now that he knew what she hid from him, it didn't make him feel any better.

It likely was the reason the killer had taken her.

It had been almost one hour and twenty-two minutes since Alice's disappearance. The agents assured him that the killer kept most of his victims alive for hours before he buried them. Some longer, since oxygen tanks were also buried beside the custom coffin at the previous crime scenes.

Jasper's fiancée, smart as she was had one phobia, enclosed spaces. She was claustrophobic. The thought of her in that situation made him sob openly for a few moments as he settled on the plane. He knew she must be terrified.

He had many regrets and one was never finding the time to start the family they wanted. "We'll find you, Ali," he whispered to himself, pulling out his cell phone to find a picture of his entire world. She barely reached his shoulder in heels, petite, but she packed a punch. Dark brown, pin straight hair that fell to her shoulders, big hazel eyes, she was beautiful.

He loved her so much.

After the agents clued Jasper in that Edward and Charlie were helping in the search back home, he realized he had another regret. It was the argument that kept Edward out of his life for the last four years. He accused him of not really living and obsessing over his sister's murder.

If Jasper had helped as Edward has asked, the killer could've been in prison already. Alice would be safe and he'd find her in their home and in their bed.

"Can you tell me what Bella Swan has to do with all of this?" Jasper asked the agent named Alex Rodrigues. In his mid-thirties, he looked as worn out as he did. Twice he heard them mention her name as they worked.

"I'm not sure," he said, shrugging. His light brown eyes widened slightly, scratching the back of his neck. "I was pulled out of the Chicago office and put on the case today. Our briefing wasn't very extensive."

He fanned several manila folders that he held, and Jasper scanned the names on them. They were the case files on the murders, including Edward's sister. Bella was alive and well after all the years of unanswered questions from Charlie. His mind filled with questions and possible scenarios. As a writer, he loved puzzles and crime dramas were his specialties. However, this time one of the pieces was Alice.

Jasper picked up the drink a flight attendant dropped off. His hand shook, the whiskey doing little to warm his body as he drank deeply. He had to keep talking or he'd lose it. "Do we know where she was taken from?"

"She was on the way to the hospital, and was seen leaving the clinic to head there, but never made it. Somewhere between the clinic and the hospital she was taken."

Alice fast tracked her way through school and her residency, and was one of the youngest doctors in the area. Wanting to keep her options open, she worked at the clinic and was on call at the hospital.

"All right," Jasper said softly. "That doesn't exactly mean she was taken by this killer."

The other agent, a Felix Dominguez replied. "A witness states seeing a woman fitting your fiancée's description being forced into the trunk of her car."

Jasper unable to handle the crushing words, shut down. He didn't allow anything to penetrate as he focused on memories and the promise to bring her home.

~oOo~

For hours, they drove around, constantly changing direction. "She's awake," Bella gasped, clutching her stomach as she was in pain. Already she had three debilitating panic attacks and she passed out twice since they left the old crime scene.

Edward was at the point of taking her back to the cabin, before the connection between her and the victim killed her.

"She was before," he said simply, driving away from where the killer buried her seven years before.

"Aware, but unable to move," Bella whispered, a sob choking her words a few times. "She's aware. I need to go back under again."

Before he could protest, she slumped against him. He cried out in frustration and wanted to pull over but she said to keep going northeast. The area was becoming less accessible, the terrain rough, and Edward was grateful for the four-wheel drive.

"He's buried her already. She knows what's happening," she cried, gasping for breath after several seconds. It seemed reawakening was taking a toll on her. "She's as calm as she could be, crying though. She's telling me what to tell Jasper and her family if we don't find her on time." He looked down at Bella and could see the tears fall down her cheeks. It wasn't until she told Edward earlier that he realized his old best friend was engaged to one of hers.

Cursing for the injustice of it all, he wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "You tell her that she'll tell Jasper everything herself," he said urgently. "She'll see her brother and family again. You tell her to hold on and that we'll find her soon, and to stay calm."

Bella only nodded and mumbled his name, her eyes partially closed. Halfway between two places, in her mind, and in Alice's; it was a disturbing thought. Her supernatural gift would take some getting used to, but he had a feeling he never would. A part of him hoped that after they caught the killer, her gift would disappear. If only to give her the peace she deserved.

"Take the next right until you reach the end of the road," she slurred, still caught between planes. "You'll find Alice's car on the right. To find her we'll have to go on foot."

"Fuck," he hissed and pulled out his phone, calling Charlie. He explained and Charlie indicated that under no circumstances were they to go off the road or trail until they got there.

"Bella's safety is on the line," Charlie reminded Edward. "If this bastard is out there, he could be using this to trap you both."

Edward knew it was a possibility.

"How far back are you?" he asked, shaking Bella enough to see if she passed out again. She had. He was tempted to call the whole thing off, but with Alice's life and Bella's state of mind on the line, they had to keep going.

"At least a few miles behind you, slow down at least."

A few miles in this road was enough to lose them, riddled with too many twists and turns. "I'm taking a right in a few seconds," Edward said, seeing the dirt road with overgrowth disguising it. He pulled out his weapon and stopped long enough to shoot a mark on a tree alongside the road. If the killer was nearby, Edward just alerted him.

"I'm marking the turn and hurry!" He hung up and pulled Bella's head back enough to see her in a trance like state again. "Baby, tell me what you're seeing."

"Wood everywhere," she whispered. "Alice is scratching a message into the wood. She says there's a camera on the right side of her face, but the killer hasn't said anything about what she's doing."

"He's talking to her?"

Bella nodded, her eyes drooping as if she was too tired to continue. "More like laughing at her. He's getting mad though."

"Why?"

"Because Alice is too calm now," she whispered gravely. "He's threatening to cut the air supply early."

"Why don't you see if you can talk to him through Alice," he said after a minute of silence. The end of the road was approaching, and narrowing dangerously. The path was for hiking and biking, not meant for vehicles. Branches started to snap on both sides as he neared the end, a pair of glowing red lights ahead—a beacon.

"I'll try," she replied, slumping fully against the seat in seconds. Edward cursed again, keeping a hand on her chest to ensure she was breathing. "Why are you doing this?" she whispered so softly, Edward had to slow further. "I don't understand. Did I do something to hurt you?" Bella twitched, turning her to her side to gasp. "It's me, I'm speaking through Alice. I'm telling her what to say."

Bella was letting him hear one side of the conversation.

"Fuck," Edward said, breaking hard and stopping behind Alice's car. He rolled up the windows, locked the doors, and checked his weapon. He crawled over Bella after quickly seeing no one outside…yet. His lips pressed against her ear, whispering, "Come back, baby. Bella, come back."

Her lashes fluttered, but didn't open and unable to show him the beauty of her eyes. "I can show you the way," she said to him.

"No, we're not leaving the truck until the cavalry gets here," he said, grabbing each side of her face. Vacant eyes stared back at him, and something was trying to draw his gaze away from her.

He didn't want to look.

"He's angry, he's going to cut off the air," she whispered. Her unfocused eyes stared up at the roof of the cab. "Go, follow me."

_Fuck no._

Staring at him from the passenger side window was Bella. She looked real enough, but shimmered out of focus for a second. His hands tightened around the flesh and blood Bella and shook his head. "I can't leave you here."

"He's made sure they won't get here fast enough," she said, both Bella's mouths moving. This shit was fucking with his head as he continued to deny what he was seeing. "The road behind us is blocked. He's miles from here now."

"If I go, he'll get you."

"He doesn't know everything I can do, hide my body. We don't have time."

Edward pounded his fist on the dashboard, lifting Bella off the seat and out of the truck within in a minute. He listened for the killer, as he carried her limp body toward the undergrowth nearby. Bella, the other one that walked beside him, murmured her approval. For some reason, he couldn't look the projected version of her in the eye not when she was like this, it was too much like if she was a ghost.

It didn't matter what she said to assure him.

"Let's go," Bella said, once he hid her body and covered her with his jacket. He tucked a gun beneath the heavy fabric, placing her hand over it. A quick look around confirmed that they were alone, but he wasn't sure for how long.

Edward nodded and followed the other Bella, but she was faster than he was. She was unhindered in her non-corporeal form, and eerily beautiful under the light of the stars. He kept his eyes roaming all round them. He didn't want the asshole to ambush him again. His ears worked hard to pick up every sound, down to the soft swish of the leaves in the light breeze that swept around them occasionally.

"Is he nearby?" he asked.

Back at the cabin, she was able to track the pet wolf she accidently adopted when she started to feed it. It had come to her three times already, and kept closer to the cabin since then. If she was aware of the wolf's presence when it was close, she should be able to detect the killer.

"No," she replied. Her voice seemed like two, an echo, and something he never heard before. "I hate that I don't know what he looks like. As soon as he blocked the road behind us, he left the area. I only feel you, myself, and Alice."

Every step he took away from Bella's body, the more he wanted to turn back. It wasn't worth the risk.

"Bastard is still talking to her," Bella hissed.

"How much farther?" he asked. She said nothing for several minutes, making him nervous, but she continued to lead him somewhere.

"I'm sorry," she said finally. "It's hard to be at three places at once."

"Three places," he repeated, shaking his head. Even seeing her like this, it didn't seem completely real.

"A part of me is making sure my body is safe, another is with you in this form, and the rest is with Alice."

_Fucking Christ, how can that not fucking fuck with my head? _"What has he said, Bella?"

He wanted to reach out for her, tell her to stop as he tried to catch his breath. He couldn't. Alice was too close and needed them to find her soon.

"I think he's my brother."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

* * *

It hurt to breathe.

The lack of noise threatened to drive Alice crazy. The silence broken occasionally by the bastard breathing heavily into whatever device he used to disguise his voice. He was getting off on the fact that she couldn't breathe normally.

"Help is coming," Bella whispered, her voice brushed her mind and soothed her frayed nerves. She didn't dare open her eyes, because if she did she'd lose it. She already panicked twice, breaking most of her nails as she foolishly tried to claw her way out, her claustrophobia getting the best of her.

It made the asshole listening in, cackle.

"Bella," she tried, but her voice was too hoarse from her useless screaming when she first awoke. She was parched and uncomfortable. Within seconds of discovering where she was, as the walls closed in around her, she urinated. Embarrassment and fear made her cry and scream for several minutes, until she heard Bella in her mind.

She avoided taking a deep breathe, knowing the smell of her sweat, blood, and urine, would make her vomit again. Bile already coated her right ear and most of her hair, and again tears slipped down her temple.

"Don't talk anymore." A moment of humming filled her thoughts. "Think."

"_I'm scared." _She opened eyes, more at ease with Bella's presence. The natural pine would above her was her only view, marked with her last love note to Jasper in her crude scratched words.

"We're close." Bella continued to hum, though she said nothing. Alice realized that Bella was humming it to keep herself tethered to her. Though Alice was aware of her, she couldn't access Bella's thoughts unless she allowed it.

"_I won't make it."_ It hurt almost as much to think those words as it did to say them. _"Tell Jasper and my brother…"_

Alice heard the desperation in Bella's song as it sped up. "You'll tell them when you see them."

Alice's thoughts scattered as her vision started to blur, flickering memories flashed through her mind. Some amazing, some so sad, she couldn't help but sob and cry. She lost three friends that year, Bella, Rosie, and Emmett. Alice wasn't the same after that, but Jasper helped her live again years later.

"Is Bella still with you, Alice?" the killer asked.

Alice shuddered at the sound of the voice. "No," she lied, raising a hand to her throat. It hurt so bad, sore from screaming. "Why? Why Bella?"

Throughout her ordeal in the box, the killer asked questions she had little answers to, meant for Bella herself. Before Bella joined her, he asked about Renee. Bella's mother was already gone when she became friends with Rosalie and Bella. She knew very little, but the killer seemed fixated on her. She had a feeling and she wanted confirmation before she died.

"I'm Renee's dirty little secret, one she buried."

~oOo~

"Your brother, what the hell are you talking about?" Edward asked, picking up the pace. Bella seemed to be more in a rush, and with Alice's life on the line, he didn't blame her. "Slow down, I'm losing you."

She looked like a wraith, moving through and around trees too far ahead of him. He was out of breath and the terrain was rough. How the killer carried a victim all that way, he couldn't figure out.

Bella only moved faster. The thought of losing her had him running after her. "I'll tell you everything later," she said, as her ghostly figure seemed to flicker and dim. "This is taking too much energy or something. I don't know." She glided to a stop, raising a pale arm, losing corporeality for a second.

Seeing her like that would haunt him forever.

"Bella!" One second she was gone, the next she appeared in front of him. She was closer than she was before, forcing him to take a step back in surprise.

"Someone is approaching my body!"

Edward automatically turned in the direction they'd come from. As much as he wanted to save Alice, the fact that Bella was in danger wouldn't allow him to ignore it. He had to get to her. Before he could take more than a few steps toward her—the real her—Bella flashed in front of him. Startling him again, she looked angry and beautiful with her hands raised toward his chest, as if to stop him.

"Save Alice," she said pleadingly. "He marked the site with a fucking bouquet of roses." Her eyes softened as Edward started to shake his head, ready to deny her. "It's Agent Garrett and my dad, go save Alice." Her hand lifted to touch his cheek, eliciting a deep shiver in him. Iciness skimmed his skin, yet it left a fiery wake of pin and needles. "Please," she whispered, disappearing before he could reach for her.

"Bella!" He tugged on his hair, torn on which way to go. "Fuck!" Her plea echoed in his ear, brushed his mind. "Damn it."

He ran.

~oOo~

Bella gasped as she sat straight up, instinctively scrambling behind a tree. Her chest hurt and the metallic taste on her tongue made her gag. Her stomach churned as she tried to catch her breath. Something intruded the darkness that surrounded her, beams of light tried to cut through it.

Fear clogged in her pores, escaping as sweat despite the chill that rattled her bones and teeth. Voices called out for her and Edward, but her ability to talk was lost. She tried but her throat tightened, her vision blurred, and spots started to burst across it. Still connected to Alice, Bella realized they were dying. The gun lay heavy in her hand and her mind tried to focus long enough for her to hold it up toward the starry sky and pull the trigger. It was all she needed to have several people run toward her, and to break the connection.

She forced herself to slow her breathing as her lungs did the opposite. After a few moments, she was able to stand and she started to run. Stumbling, cursing, and crying she ran toward Edward and Alice, trying to reconnect.

Knowing it might be too late.

~oOo~

Arms and hands muddy and aching, Edward worked the mound of dirt and debris away from him. Determination fueled him to keep going, even though the killer put the exact time air would run out on the bouquet's card.

Two minutes had passed since that deadline.

"Edward!" The sound of Bella's voice had him wanting to reach for her. There was a raw need to see with his own eyes that she was fine. "We're coming!"

He heard footsteps behind him, unarmed he was vulnerable. It didn't matter, because he had to keep going.

"Jesus, Edward," Mark, one of Charlie's deputies said. "First Bella's back and now all this starts up again."

"Shut up, we don't have much time."

Mark went to work beside Edward, and handed him another shovel. Standing, they worked quickly as others arrived and started to help, six in all. Bella stood across from Edward, behind a few agents and deputies, along with a local reporter Aro Genaro and city reporter Mike Newton.

The fact that she was coherent didn't escape Edward's notice. Bella explained, "She pushed me out."

The _twack _and _ping _of metal against wood had everyone suddenly getting a second wind. Soon, Edward was able to jump down in the hole and caught the crowbar Charlie threw at him. The killer nailed it down, a first.

Mark and Garrett helped pull the top off, a few of the others cursed at the sight of the bloodied wood. In that moment, sound seemed to cease for Edward, time slowed. He saw as Bella pushed her way through, her father trying to stop her. Time exploded forward as she screamed for Alice, and cried as the others worked to keep her from seeing. Edward leaned down, checking for a pulse and finding none.

"She's still there!" Bella cried, fighting the hold of her father's arms. "I can still hear her." The wail of sirens told them the ambulance had arrived. Edward and Garrett shared a look, silently agreeing. They both worked fast to shift Alice into position and start CPR.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four  
**

* * *

Bella was close to him.

Pushed behind an imaginary line by uniformed officers, farther away from where he wanted to be. His gaze kept sweeping the scene, but his eyes would always land on her. If he focused too much, they'd know who he was. The disguise she was in wasn't enough to mask her identity.

She looked like their mother. Perfect even in her terror. More beautiful as she screamed for the dying friend she was failing. They'd been too close, again. Was it true? Could she see through the eyes of his victims?

Had she seen the consequences to his failure?

His punishment rubbed raw from the too tight watch around his wrist. Pulling down on his sleeve, he felt uncomfortable in the mask he wore for the world to see. When he slipped it off and became the real him, it was easy as breathing.

He followed victims for weeks, more than one at a time. He was always willing to change his plans if the conditions weren't perfect to take a certain victim, so he'd take another.

Lizabeth Henley was sick at home with the flu, deviating from his original plan. It would've been after cheerleading practice at the football stadium, which he rated as highly problematic. It only made it more exciting and exhilarating to him, but his chance lost because of a damn virus.

Alice Brandon was one of the four he followed and knew their schedules by heart. As he left the stadium that day, he realized that the doctor would be leaving the clinic soon. She'd been in a hurry, an emergency at the hospital almost saved her. If she'd gotten the call a few minutes earlier, she would've left and he would've moved on to one of the others.

He'd been prepared. It had been easy to lure her into his web. A friendly face, a problem with his car and a simple, "Any chance you have some cables?" The hood of the car he'd stolen hid his face from prying human and mechanical eyes.

The authorities would wonder if all the victims came back to his sister now that he'd chosen another of her old friends. They'd see the pattern soon enough. They were close, they asked for almost all the appropriate county and school records. It was only a matter of time.

Some of the people around him screamed out questions.

"_Is the Six-Foot killer back after a yearlong break?" _

"_Can you confirm that Lauren Mallory was a victim of the Tri-County Killer?"_

He did his best to ignore them, his gaze resting on those around the grave. Loose dirt surrounded it in various mounds. Shovels stuck out like markers. His position allowed him to see inside, which was why he'd chosen the location.

Edward, pretty Rosalie's brother, breathed into the doctor's mouth, her chest moving up and down for every breath. Bella continued to cry and scream, but they'd be futile efforts in the end. Her father, the man that raised her alone after their mother left her, after he threatened to take her daughter from her, held her as she cried.

Charlie Swan. He was nothing like the man that raised him for the first ten years of his life. Bella once had the life he should've and he wouldn't rest until he took everything precious to her. Her father, her friends, her dog, and the man she was fucking. He was sure of that, it was there in the way Edward looked at her, trying hard to save the doctor. He knew that it would break her, be well on the way of destroying what little fight she had left.

When that happened, he'd bury her, too.

~oOo~

Edward continued to breathe into Alice's mouth, wary and desperate to save her. He had a strong protective instinct as a detective and as a brother, and that instinct was determined to save her. It was more than that, too. He knew the repercussions if they couldn't bring her back from the edge of death.

An eerie silence fell over the murmuring voices above, and it was only a second for him to realize that Bella had stopped screaming. His eyes snapped up to where he'd last seen her. She was on her knees, at the grave's edge, arms out, head titled looking skyward. Her eyes rolled until they were white.

"_I almost died once." _The memory of that conversation startled him. She was trying to save Alice the only way she knew how.

"Stop her!" he cried out at the exact moment Alice's body arched in Garrett's hold. As if hung by a cable along her midsection, Alice continued to arch, twice, and after the third, her body went limp. Garrett placed his fingers at her throat, nodding as two paramedics fought through the dozen reporters and supporting crews that clamored for pictures and the grizzly details.

Bella pitched forward, but Edward was already there to catch her. Gingerly, he helped Charlie and Alistair pull her out of the grave. The paramedics, along with others, assisted to do the same for Alice. She hadn't awaken, but she was breathing on her own.

Edward pulled himself up and was quick to push his way toward Bella. He found her near her truck, staring blankly ahead and her rigid body in Alistair and Charlie's hold. The moment he said her name as he stood before her, she collapsed in his arms.

~oOo~

What felt like hours later, holding an almost catatonic Bella, Edward was free to leave the hospital. She answered questions to show that she was relatively all right, but Edward feared for her. Her shoulders curled forward and up, defensive. Every person that came close to her during the last few hours she'd shy away from and tuck herself against him.

Garrett and Alistair, along with four more agents, accompanied him to two vehicles that would take them to a nearby hotel. It was too risky to go back to the cabin. The killer could follow them there. It wasn't worth the risk. The latest update on Alice indicated that she hadn't awakened yet. The doctors tossed out the words "brain damage" and "coma" due to lack of oxygen. Jasper and Emmett were due soon and Edward wasn't ready to give answers to them, even if they had the right to know.

His only concern was Bella.

"Charlie said he'd meet us back at the hotel in the morning," Garrett said from behind the wheel. "He wants to sit down and for us to go over everything."

Edward nodded, but offered no other response. He was exhausted and Bella was too quiet, he needed to hold her. When they arrived at the hotel, the team of agents surrounded them as reporters and cameras hindered their way inside.

He felt Bella's arm around his waist tighten, when her knees threatened to come out from under her, he swept her into his arms. "Move the fuck out of the way," he hissed through clenched teeth at an asshole that shoved a mike in his face.

Edward watched as Garrett leaned toward Alistair to whisper something at him. Alistair fell back and disappeared into the throng of media. Something caught Garret's attention, but Bella's small whimper when a reporter asked if she was another victim, made him quicken his pace.

It hadn't taken long for the news world to make Brinnon the next location for a media circus. Serial killers were sensational news to them, but the fact that a victim of the killer had survived would undoubtedly create more drama. Those that witnessed her behavior at the site would be chomping at the bit for an explanation.

Reasonably, there was none to give. How would he explain that his girlfriend could see through the victim's eyes as they fought to survive in a box? To him it sounded insane and unbelievable and he'd witnessed it.

An agent named Jared was already standing outside the door to their hotel room. After a brief introduction, Edward walked in and settled Bella on the bed. He moved away from her reluctantly, and found Garrett waiting for him.

"We'll let you sleep in, but we'll be here around ten."

"I don't like this," Edward stated firmly. He crossed his arms over his chest. "It's bad enough she's basically going through everything they are. But to see it with her own eyes what the victims look like in the end." He shook his head. "This could destroy her."

"We have no other choice." Garrett shrugged. "We'll keep her away from the pictures for now."

They heard a door shut behind them and shortly after the sound of a shower running. Edward sighed and led Garrett toward the door. "We'll see you in the morning. Keep us updated on the Doc."

"Will do."

Edward checked to make sure the room was secure, despite the fact that Garrett and Jared had already done it. Keeping his weapon on him, he sought out Bella. He found her standing in the shower, arms extended in front of her, and her hands resting on the tile. She stood directly under the spray as water cascaded down her body.

"Bella."

Her breath hitched and she called out his name. He moved quickly, stripping and joining her. His hand slipped along her back and instantly she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. She broke down and he held her tight, wishing he had the power to protect her from everything and everyone.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five  
**

* * *

After Bella checked in with Charlie, and Edward did the same with his father and stepmother, they fell into bed, exhausted mentally and physically.

They'd only been asleep for an hour before Bella awoke from a nightmare. Lost in her terror, it had taken several minutes before Edward could get her to calm down enough to fall asleep again. She wanted desperately to return to the cabin, fearing the world around her.

Edward fell into a dreamless sleep well over an hour later, thankful that his mind was too numb to give him nightmares. Hours before dawn approached, he felt Bella stir beside him. Slowly, she moved over him and whispered a soft plea, "I need you."

His answering groan was deep, and rough with wariness. She was vulnerable and scared, and he didn't feel comfortable taking advantage of that. Her soft, exploring fingers turned urgent along his chest. They, along with her tears were hard to ignore.

"Bella, Bella," he tried to reason, shifting her beneath him. There was little desire when fear had settled deep in his gut, but he could show her how much she meant to him. Tears fell from her eyes and he worked to wipe them with his thumbs and lips. He whispered words to her, mostly about how smart, brave, and beautiful she was, and how sweet. How he hadn't dreamed of a future until she'd become a part of his life again.

She allowed him to continue, his hands moving over her. With every whisper, the press of his lips, and caress of his fingers, she relaxed further. Her tears stopped, but the soft moan of his name had desire heating his blood. He slid inside her slowly and kissed her with renewed need.

"Edward," she moaned a couple of minutes later, tugging his mouth closer. She urged him onto his back. She kissed and licked, rubbed and stroked until he was lost and desperate to be closer.

"Please, Bella." He grasped her thighs, trying to move her over him. Her hands found purchase on his chest and swirled her hips until he was deep inside her again. His arms circled around her, his hands spanning her back. He met her every stroke, kissed her until she was breathless. Loved her until the fear in her eyes diminished and there was something in them he never knew he needed.

They loved for hours, settling as dawn lit the sky.

~oOo~

The killer watched the hospital for hours, cursing the law that kept him from the information he needed. Within minutes, he hacked the network and found admittance records; Alice Brandon was alive, though barely.

His laptop suffered, the screen blacking out in several spots as his hands bent the framing. Anger coursed through him as he waited to calm down. A knock on the window startled him, his mask slipping enough to see fear on his colleague's face. He shook the anger away, replacing it with a relaxed but tired smile.

"There's going to be a press conference tomorrow in town hall," he said, shaking his head. "Can you believe it, in town fucking hall? If this wasn't the biggest story right now, I'd be sipping vodka and olives from some woman's navel."

He laughed as was expected. "At least no one else seems to have gotten the jump on the story. No exclusives."

His colleague looked in the side mirror of the news van, checking his perfect white teeth and straightening his tie. "I'll be getting that exclusive. I'm not about to let some other reporter get the scoop of the most sensational serial killer story in over twenty years."

They bumped fists and headed out for the night. They'd return in the morning, but first he had something to do. He had failed again, and now he had to serve his penance.

~oOo~

"How is she?" Charlie asked shortly after room service arrived. Edward had yet to wake Bella, knowing she needed her rest.

"As well as you expect after everything she'd gone through in the last week," he replied. "I'm going to go wake her."

Within minutes, she joined them, unable to look anyone in the eye. It didn't escape Edward's notice that the others hadn't even tried. They settled to eat, everyone still reeling from the day before. He felt the tension thicken in the air, and the only sound was of clanking silverware against plates.

"What happened yesterday, Bella?" Edward asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. She knew exactly what he was asking about, since he tried to question her the night before. The grief in her eyes stopped him. Yet, he had to know how she helped Alice.

She looked down at her lap, her fingers fidgeting. Her voice was soft, almost childlike. "I still heard her. I don't know how or why, but once she was too weak, I was able to jump back inside her mind. I just remember screaming in her head, begging her to stay. I don't know how to describe it. One moment she was there, but only a shadow of her, and she brightened suddenly and she was there, stronger. That pushed me back out again."

"Do you think she'll be all right?" Agent Alistair asked, rubbing his mouth. The concern in his voice, contradicted his stern expression. In the few interactions with him, it surprised Edward. He seemed so well put together, more than Garrett.

"Her body needs to heal," she said cautiously. "I may be able to help more."

"No," Charlie said before Edward had a chance to say the same. "You're not going to the hospital. That place is a security nightmare. I won't put you at risk."

Bella nodded, biting her lip. Edward already knew that she didn't have to be right beside Alice to try. She would, but he only hoped he'd convince her to wait until she was strong enough. Whatever it was that happened the night before drained her to the point that she could barely hold herself up. She needed to recuperate from the ordeal.

"Let's get this cleaned up so we can start," Garrett stated as he rose to his feet. Everyone followed suit and cleaned up the remnants of their breakfast. Within fifteen minutes, the table's surface had the things they needed.

"What does this map show?" Bella asked, standing over a map of Brinnon and the surrounding counties.

"The fourteen yellow marks are where the victims were taken," Alistair pointed out, each flag numbered. "The eleven red flags are where the victims were buried and died. The blue ones are you, Edward, and Ms. Brandon, the only surviving victims." Alistair marked a spot with all three colors. It was where Rosalie died, and where Edward was both taken and buried.

She cocked her head from side to side. "He really does stay within the perimeters of the three counties."

Garrett circled the areas with a red marker. "All the burial sites were within a hundred miles from your home town. The victims were taken from within that area and just outside of that same area."

"Where on the road was Bella found again?" Edward asked. Charlie grabbed a green sticky flag and labeled it. "How did he not know right away that she made it out?"

"There were no cameras installed in the box or out of it. Not even a way for him to talk to her."

Edward nodded. "Which was why he started to do that with Rosalie and the others."

"Exactly, also, for Bella, he used a much thinner particle board, whereas all the latest were made of one and half inch pine." Alistair said, pulling out a file from a nearby box. "Is there anything you remember when you were inside with Alice?" Edward had to hand it to him, though Alistair was skeptical, it was obvious he was starting to believe.

Bella had said the night before that she didn't remember much after she passed out by the grave. She closed her eyes, taking a seat in the chair behind her. She pulled her legs and feet up, and circled her arms around her knees. A protective instinct rose up in him, and he wanted to take her away from all of it.

"Whatever happened last night, my memory is fuzzy. It's slowly clearing up, but I swear Alice was trying to tell me something."

"You said something about the killer being your brother," Edward said, knowing the implications would be hard to handle.

"That's fucking insane," Charlie hissed. "She has no brother."

"That you're aware of," Alistair said, opening up his laptop. "Maybe he wasn't yours, but your wife's son."

The subject of Renee was a sore one. She left them with only a goodbye and that she couldn't do it anymore being a parent or a wife. Bella was only twelve when she left.

"She never said a damn word to me," Charlie said, falling into a chair behind him. His face had gone pale and his eyes closed. "Are you sure he's not mine?" His color returned with a vengeance as he faced his daughter. "I dated a bit before I met Renee."

"I'm sure." Bella opened her eyes, her hand extending for Edward to take. He did quickly, lacing their fingers together. She needed the support and he would gladly be her foundation. "He said that he was Renee's dirty little secret, one that she buried."

"Fuck," Charlie said, rubbing a hand over his face roughly.

"I've got her medical records," Alistair said, not looking anyone in the eye. He obviously had the skills to obtain them without the proper authority. "According to her file, her obstetrician noted that he didn't believe it was her first pregnancy and that she had given birth. He tried to get her to talk about it, in case of past complications, but she adamantly refused she was ever pregnant before Bella."

"Does it say how long he thought it had been since she'd given birth?" Bella asked.

"He estimated between four to five years."

"Jesus," Charlie said, shaking his head. "She would've been a damn child, barely sixteen!"

"I'm sorry, Charlie," Garrett said after silence had fallen on them.

"There's more," Alistair said, typing away on his laptop. "Renee hasn't used her social security number in twelve years."

Silence made Bella uncomfortable as her father tried to work through something.

"After she told us she was leaving us, I never looked for her," Charlie said, sharing a look with Garrett and then Alistair. "Could it be her?"

"I'll have to pull her dental records," Alistair stated, returning his attention to his laptop. "The reports would be consistent from when you last saw her."

Edward saw the questioning gaze Bella had, confusion forcing her lips to thin. "What are you taking about?"

"I'm with Bella, is there something we should know?" Edward asked. There was a tinge of anger and frustration in his voice.

Charlie swallowed and shook his head, as if he didn't have the words. "What is it?" Bella said, her voice getting louder. Rising to her feet and pulling Edward to his, she repeated her question when no one answered. He wrapped a supporting arm around her waist.

"There was a reason you weren't buried as deep as the others," Alistair indicated, sensing Charlie's grief. "Our forensic team decided to shift through the soil at least a foot deeper from where you were buried. They hoped to get something. One of the men fell through…" Garrett cleared his throat, and the three men shared another look.

Bella covered her mouth, shaking her head and tears filling her eyes. "Just come out with it!"

Edward already put the clues together, and he had no doubt Bella had, too. She needed the confirmation.

Alistair sighed, unable to offer nothing but the truth. "Buried approximately two feet beneath you, they found another coffin. Inside was a Caucasian female between the ages of 29-35 years. Preliminary reports indicated that based on the rate of decay that the body found within had been dead for at least ten to twelve years."

"Oh God," Bella cried, collapsing in Edward's arms.

Garrett added, "You were not the first victim."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six  
**

* * *

"She's cleaning up," Edward said, as he exited the adjoining room. He sat down, ran his hands over his face, and tugged on his hair. Bella had cried for almost an hour, confused and angry after realizing her mother was probably dead.

One look at Charlie and Edward realized he looked as bad as she did.

"Tell us about when Renee left." He hated to ask about a difficult time, but there were too many unanswered questions. It appeared that they literally had to start from the beginning.

What drove someone to kill his own mother and half-sister?

Charlie looked at the closed door Edward had just exited. "Is she joining us?"

Edward eyed the mini fridge across the room. He wanted a damn drink, but it wasn't the time. There was too much at stake.

"She'll come out in a few minutes." He preferred not to leave her alone, not when there was a chance she'd have an episode. She asked for some time alone and he understood.

"It's best to wait until then."

Edward agreed, turning his attention to the two agents in the room. Garrett was on the phone, trying to get the dental records on Renee and see if they matched the body they found in Bella's almost grave. Alistair continued to look for any trace of Renee in the last twelve years and if she listed as the birth mother to anyone but Bella.

He heard the door open, and though he wanted to go to her, it was obvious that Charlie was aching to be there for her, too. He wasn't about to get in the way of that.

"I'm thirsty," Bella said, grasping her throat with a pale hand and swallowing hard. She asked for a drink. "I apologize for my, um, reaction."

"There's no need to," Charlie said, helping her into the small couch as Edward grabbed of the iced tea she requested.

"As I already said before," Edward reminded her and handed her the glass. He sat beside her, and soon everyone joined them to listen to her father.

Not used to being the center of attention, Charlie flushed before he was able to talk. "First of all, I wish I could give you an exact date when things started to go downhill. I don't have a timeframe."

"A couple of months before she left," Edward said, leaning forward on his elbows. "Whatever you remember might be helpful."

"It was around my birthday she started to act all weird." Bella stared straight ahead, looking at no one. "She didn't want me to open one of the presents I got in the mail and I didn't understand why."

"She told you it wasn't meant for you," Charlie stated. "Christ, I didn't even remember that until now. Never saw what it was either. She threw it in the fireplace." He cleared his throat to continue. "Bella's right, it would've been after her birthday. Suddenly, Renee was running later than usual, always getting into strange incidents. Twice I had to rescue her by the side of the road because of a flat tire or the car breaking down. One time at school, I swore one of her tires looked slashed, but she insisted she ran over a piece of metal on the road.

"She wasn't sleeping very well up until she left. Said she had insomnia. I remember one night waking up and finding her side of the bed cold. I got up. She was looking out a window, a baseball bat in her hands. Said she thought she heard something."

"You didn't think to question that kind of behavior?" Bella rose an octave, her eyes wide and glazed with tears.

"Of course I did!" Charlie wanted to reach for her, but thought it would be too much. He needed to get the words out. "We started to fight, a lot. Over the stupidest things, and she seemed to look for it, too. I started to wonder if she was on drugs again."

"What the fuck?" Bella was nearly to her feet, her gaze on her father.

Charlie sighed, appearing twenty years older. "She'd been clean for a year when I met her," he said after a few silent moments. "She was a runaway. By then I was in my rookie year on the force and I tried to look for her parents. I fucking wished I hadn't. Her father had a rap sheet that would scare most hardened criminals. He always managed to get out of jail time. Her mother was no better, prostitute, junkie, if it made you forget or not care she put it up her nose."

Edward rubbed Bella's back as she curled against his side, clutching his shirt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We wanted to protect you from a past she was ashamed of."

When Charlie said nothing after several moments, Alistair broke the silence. "Keep going," he encouraged, taking notes.

"I helped set up a new name and social since her asshole father was looking for her."

"Fucking hell!" Garrett said, punching the cushion of the chair he sat on. "What was her name?"

"Marie Renee Williams."

Bella started to tremble no matter how hard Edward held her. "Tell the rest of it."

It took another minute for Charlie to continue, his eyes staring blankly at the floor. "As you said it started after your birthday, it was about six weeks when she came home one day and said she was leaving." Charlie had to stop then, looking away in attempt to hide the tears in his eyes.

"She didn't leave a note, like you said?" she asked, her face flushing as anger colored her voice. "You said she left a damn note."

Charlie shook his head. "I didn't want to admit that I fucking begged her to stay. On my knees, baby, I pleaded with her not to leave us."

Edward had to look away from the anguish in Charlie's eyes. No one said a word for a couple of minutes.

"What did she say exactly?" Alistair said, keeping the conversation before they lost Bella and Charlie to their anger and grief.

"She said she had to leave. That it was for the best and that without her we'd be better off and that she was never meant to be a mother and she should've realized that sooner."

Bella rose to stand and started to pace. "Mom told me the night before that she would always love me and that she was doing this for us. At the time I was half-asleep, and didn't understand most of what she said."

"She did?" Charlie asked, cursing after a moment. "God, he forced her to leave us."

She nodded, her fists clenching to her sides. "Until we get confirmation from the medical examiner…" She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair in aggravation. "We need to continue where we left off."

"You're right, Bella," Garrett said. "We'll know for sure soon."

Wary, Edward led her to the table blanketed with case files and photos. The marked map was pinned to a large cork/white board Alistair brought in.

"Adding my mother to the list of victims, and the fact that he referred to himself as my mother's dirty little secret, we need to look at the victims differently."

"I agree," Alistair said, setting up his laptop at the head of the table. "We finally have everything switched from hard copies to digital. Everything from school records, district records, birth and death certificates, adoption and child services. We went as far as the three counties, and included the closet major city."

"He's angry at her and me, but why?" she asked, pulling Lauren Mallory's file. Edward stopped her and shook his head. "Fine, remove the pictures, please."

"Thank you."

They went to work on possible parameters to search the database the FBI created. "If we go on the assumption that he is Mrs. Swan's son, we know he's about thirty years old." Alistair was typing away at the computer. "Probably was adopted or in the foster system."

"All victims attended a school in the Northwest Diamond District," Garrett added.

"Since the population is pretty low in the area, it serves three counties." Edward tapped a file on the desk, waiting as Alistair continued to type away.

Bella picked up a thick file from the profiler. "According to the profiler, she feels that this is personal."

"He doesn't take the time to clean his victims as some serial killers tend to do," Charlie said, picking up a few photos. "All of them had debris in their hair, their clothes were torn, even cuts, and there was no indication of sexual assault."

"Let's look at it this way," Edward said, standing. He popped his back, his body in dire need of a restful sleep for at least a week. He ignored it. "Let's say the killer is Renee's son, one she never claimed."

"It's looking more and more like that," Alistair said, but his eyes were on his computer screen. "There are no hospitalization records for her around the time she would've given birth to him. Mind you, I only have access to records that were uploaded digitally. She was living in New York when she probably conceived, and there was a domestic violence call made by her neighbor shortly after. The father and mother were arrested and Renee was sent into the system where she placed in a foster home and then disappeared three months later."

"So, she runs away and gives birth somewhere and leaves the baby?" Bella shook her head.

"It's possible. There are plenty of cases of newborns being left at churches or hospitals." Charlie said.

"All right," Edward said, rubbing the back of his neck. He picked up a pen and started to tap it against his wrist. A habit he did when he needed to think. "At one point Renee comes to Washington and meets Charlie."

"She was almost twenty when I met her, by the end of that year we were married and planning to start our family. Renee was pregnant with Bella shortly after that."

"After which Renee gives birth to Bella and goes to school to become a teacher."

"No, she was a substitute," Bella said absently, twirling a length of hair with one foot up on the chair. "She couldn't past some test to get her full credentials, so she subbed, and mostly grade and elementary school." Her eyes widened after a few seconds. "Oh fuck! That's why the victims are between seventeen and twenty-five."

"Shit," three men said in unison. Edward, Garrett, Charlie grabbed the victims' files and started to call out dates and schools for Alistair to work with. After a few minutes, he sat back.

"Bingo! Every single victim aside from Edward, Renee subbed a class at least once."

Bella wiped at her tears, shaking her head. "She gave him away and for her, to not only have another child, but for her to teach other children, it's an insult to him. How could she give a child away and yet teach, and have another one? After she left him and probably never claimed him as her own."

"Edward shouldn't be included to that pool," Garrett said. "He was only made a victim for his continuing investigation. He got too close."

"And was probably another way to lure me out," Bella stated. "His kidnapping was more violent than the others. He knocked him out, whereas the others were drugged."

"If that's the case, even if you had died," Edward said, shuddering a little. "He probably would've continued killing every girl that she taught."

"Lizabeth is a possible victim," Bella said. "She's eighteen which likely meant that Mom probably subbed in grade school."

"First grade," Alistair said. "If we include the ages of the victim, cross reference their descriptions, and if she subbed, we have," he tapped one last key, his eyes widening. "There's only three more that fit the criteria."

"We got him," Edward said, tossing the pen on the table. "We have the girls watched and wait. When he tries to take one of them, we'll get the asshole.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

* * *

"I want to go home," Bella whispered, her arms curling around a throw pillow. They were watching television, awaiting the press conference held by the FBI and Charlie starting soon.

Edward tensed beside her, and had to work to relax again. "You know why you can't." He couldn't look at her, because if he saw the fear in her eyes, he would take her back. It was hard to deny her anything. It didn't help that the sense of security her house provided was better than the hotel's meager system.

"I know."

They'd been alone for an hour, mostly spent in silence. Alistair had gone to brief the rest of the FBI team on the case, armed with the startling clues they'd uncovered. Garrett accompanied Charlie to town hall where the press conference would broadcast from in a few minutes. Two agents remained out in the hall, while two more wore plain clothes downstairs, and another posted in the security office of the hotel. They were as safe as could be, but with Bella's life on the line, Edward felt it wasn't enough.

He glanced at Bella from the corner of his eye, curled up against the opposite end of the couch. Since the revelations, they found about her mother, and they awaited test results to confirm them, a wall erected between them.

He couldn't understand why.

Bella fortified her defenses, enclosing herself within them. A part of him felt grateful, since he needed to concentrate on the investigation. Yet, it felt like it was the start of the end.

He didn't want it to be.

"Mike Newton seems different," she asked, her brow furrowed and a crease formed between her eyebrows. "I never met him, but from what I heard when I was younger, was that he was sweet."

Edward snorted, shaking his head. "I was a senior when he was a freshman in high school, and at that time, I'd agree with you. A little too nice, you know." He chuckled, though it wasn't a happy sound. "The problem was Marcus, his older brother who graduated the year after me. He was an asshole and it didn't take long for Mike to follow along his footsteps."

She smiled knowingly, quirking a dark eyebrow. "It sounds like you know from experience."

"I caught the little shit when I was working traffic outside of Seattle, with a damn minor. I arrested him for possession, hoping to get statutory rape to stick, but I'm pretty sure his parents greased a few palms to get him out of trouble, including the girl's family."

Bella shivered and scowled in disgust, returning her attention to the screen. "He does seem pretty full of himself."

Mike continued to blather on about the case, concealing the speculation in the form of questions all the while smiling as much as possible. How someone could put on such a good show with a grin that reached bright blue eyes, made little sense to Edward. When he talked about murder, the last thing he wanted to do was smile. Admittedly, the thought of the serial killer dying might produce half of one at the very least.

"Dad said something about the tech guy who used to work at the station is working with him now," Bella said, rolling her eyes. "I bet he regrets it."

Edward snapped his fingers, when he remembered. "Ben something, I think." He smiled again, catching her attention. The look of confusion encouraged him to share. "I think he had a bit of a thing for you, saw him watching you and my sister a few times."

"I don't think I remember a Ben something."

"You probably wouldn't." Edward shrugged, openly honest with her. "He may have been older than you, but you were a bit out of his league."

"Let me guess, you set him straight," she said, batting her lashes playfully. Thankful for the flow of conversation from her, instead of the thick silence that hung between them, he shifted to face her.

"He was a nerd, and I caught him once in a tree, trying to look into some girl's window. Fell out and I told him to stay away from you and Rosalie just in case he got any ideas."

"You were a good brother," she said quietly.

"I should've been home that summer," Edward said, allowing his head to fall back against the cushion. "Maybe if I had been, it wouldn't have happened to her."

Edward felt the couch move slightly as she crawled across the cushions and onto his lap. He grabbed a hold of her and wrapped his arms around her.

"You were in the middle of a big case, Edward. You had no way of knowing what would happen to her. Even if I hadn't been in that coma, I would've thought it was a nightmare or something since it was my first experience."

"I know," he said, settling his forehead on her shoulder. "I know, but what ifs are normal to have in a situation like this."

"I'm the same way," she whispered. "Since I've gotten more control, I wonder now if I had before, if I could've saved Lauren, you, and Alice from all of this."

Edward pulled back enough to look into her eyes. "Why do you think you were able to control it more when it was me?"

She shrugged. "Maybe because I already had a connection to you, I'm not sure. I was able to snap out of the trance and drive while a part of me was conscious of what was happening to you."

"And once you realized that you can control it, you were able to practice more."

"Something like that," she replied, fingering the hair at the nape of his neck. "That night leads me to believe why I now have a connection to the killer. I never had that before. He spoke to me that night, and was aware that I was alive and well. It opened up the connection to him."

Edward nodded. "Any chance he can see through your eyes?"

She shrugged. "I never sensed him in _my _thoughts. So far, I seem to be able to control what they would see. It worked with Alice at least."

"There are still so many variables and holes in our theories."

Bella knew which one bothered all of them the most. "The thirteen month break in between victims Angela Weber and Lauren Mallory."

"Exactly, what happened to him? Whatever it was, it prevented him from killing anyone as he has been doing consistently for the last seven years."

"Maybe something happened to him. The court house, when I was seeing through his eyes, was so much different from when he hurt himself the night I saved you."

"What do you mean?"

"He had trouble breathing, but when he was hurting himself, he was calm, methodical."

"Could it be that he was punishing himself for failing?"

Bella nodded, shifting to stretch her legs over his and the arm of the couch. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"It almost seemed like he was two different people," she said softly. "Maybe that's why I can't make sense of the images I saw while I was in his head." His arms automatically tightened around her, as if he could protect her from the curse she lived with.

"Maybe the trouble he had breathing wasn't due to his anxiety but for some kind of illness or injury."

"That could possibly be crossed referenced too."

"Medical records are off limits unless we have permission," Edward stated, catching the look on her face. "We can't obtain those illegally if we want to put the bastard in jail."

"You can cross reference them with men that were either issued unemployment, worker's comp, or disability during that same period."

Edward stilled and let out a whoop of laughter. "Damn woman, I love how your mind works. That is a possibility."

He grabbed the new secured phone Garrett left with them and called Alistair directly. He gave him the information and Alistair indicated he'd work into the system once the press conference was over.

Bella sighed and they continued to talk about the case, an announcement from the television caught their attention minutes later.

Garrett stood behind a podium filled with microphones all vying for his words and attention. Dressed in a grey suit, he named all the victims, adding Lauren Mallory, Alice Brandon, and Isabella Swan to the list. He continued disclosing some vital information, but not everything due to the nature of the case.

"_We have confirmed that the suspect had killed well before Bella Swan was taken from near her home, almost five years earlier. We also confirmed with dental records that the remains of the true first victim, a one Renee Swan, were found buried three feet beneath her daughter."_

Bella's hands tightened around Edward. They continued to listen, but learned no new information from it. At least now, they knew who the first victim was, though it did little to lighten the tension between them.

~oOo~

Charlie and Garrett joined them later that day, and managed to find a decoy couple so that they could return to the safety of the cabin where Billy awaited them. After a few car switches and disguise exchanges, they found their way to their sanctuary in the wilderness by nightfall.

Edward toyed with the idea of leaving with Charlie and Garrett, but found it difficult to leave Bella. Rufus greeted her with a few deep barks and lapping of her cheek and hands. She brightened under the attention.

"You must be Edward," Billy said, his hand extended. "I remember you." Dressed in a blue flannel and worn jeans, Edward greeted the man eagerly. He would protect Bella if the killer should find her, if he left. He wasn't much older than Charlie was. Something in his black eyes said he was harder, tougher, as if he'd seen things that not even Charlie could imagine.

Billy would die for her as he would.

"You helped track down that kid that went missing when I worked for Charlie," Edward said, remembering the case.

"That be me. I'm glad you're here," Billy stated, gesturing toward Rufus who licked Edward's hand affectionately. "He wants to thank you for feeding his friend outside."

"I knew it!" Bella said, doing a little dance and throwing her jacket on a couch. She knelt beside the St. Bernard and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "I knew he was coming out because of you, boy."

"Bella's the one that was feeding the wolf," Edward said, shrugging. At Billy's troubling deep sigh, he caught everyone's attention.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said, taking a moment to settle his large frame in a nearby chair. He removed the Stetson from his inky black hair, dusting it on his knee. "But Rufus needs to return with me."

"What's wrong, Billy?" she asked, her arms tightening around her dog.

"He needs to have another surgery and it'll require more recovery time." He explained what the vet said needed to be done soon to ensure his health.

She nodded, hiding her face in his fur. Poor Rufus whined, wanting to lick her face. "Okay," she whispered softly. "You're going to be okay, Rufus."

"I thought I should let you know, that I came on up here through Dante's trail," Billy stated pointedly.

That caught Garrett and Charlie's attention. "That trail has been purposely kept blocked to prevent easy access to the property, other than the driveway."

Billy nodded at Charlie, but his gaze dropped onto his goddaughter. She still held onto the dog, seemingly oblivious. His brow furrowed with concern. "I thought so, too. I always check it out to be on the safe side and it's recently been cleared."

Suddenly, before anyone could say a word, Rufus started to bark loudly. Bella fell to her side, convulsing and screaming. Everyone scrambled to reach her, Edward was first to grab a hold of her, shaking when his hands came away bloody.

* * *

**AN: Next chapter is written, just waiting on some edits! I'll post as soon as I get it back ;)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

* * *

"Bella!" all of them yelled. She thrashed from side to side, the sleeves of each arms saturated with blood within seconds as she moved.

Edward straddled her thighs, trying to capture her hands. An unexpected left hook snapped his head back. Garrett and Charlie fell to their knees beside her, each grabbing a flailing arm.

"What the fuck is going on?" Charlie grunted, surprised by the strength in his daughter's body. His faced flushed as he struggled to keep her arm pinned beneath his hands.

"The asshole is punishing himself again," Garrett replied, grimacing. He hated the thought of hurting Bella. "Fuck! Do something. She's going to snap her own neck." Her screams echoed around them, cutting through them down to the core.

Charlie's eyes glazed over as she started to cry through her screams. Blood seemed to come from several cuts on her forearms and thighs, seeping through the cotton and denim.

Desperate to help her, Edward grabbed her face between his hands, but she fought his hold. Tears slid along her temples and into her ears, never ceasing.

"Bella," he whispered as he bent down, his mouth near her ear. "Come back, baby." He pulled back to capture her gaze, her eyes dilated to the point that they appeared almost completely black.

"Help me," she gasped, her back arching beneath him.

"Break the connection," he pleaded, as she continued to buck. "Break it!"

Her eyes rolled back, her body shaking harder than ever. Garrett was right, if she didn't stop, she could get hurt. Edward grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes again. He only saw one solution. "Bella!" When she didn't respond to his voice as she had before, he whispered against her lips, "Please forgive me."

Edward slapped her hard across the cheek.

"Hey!" someone cried out.

"What the fuck?" Charlie tackled Edward off his daughter, holding him down with a knee to the chest. Edward didn't put up a fight or struggle, and his eyes were only for her.

Her body had gone limp, almost instantly after he hit her. Her arms stretched out on each side of her, blood dripping from her cuts onto the hardwood floor. Her chest heaved, but her watery gaze was on him, too.

They reached an understanding in the short moment, before Garrett was pulling her into his arms and away from Edward.

"It was the only way," Edward said, choking on nearly every word. Though Charlie's weight disappeared, an ache remained on his chest. Her father ran to help clear the table to lay her down in the kitchen.

Once he caught his breath, Edward slowly rose to his feet. His fingers automatically plucked a cigarette from the pack in his jacket pocket. He watched as the others tended to Bella's wounds, asking her questions. She remained silent. She'd have no answers for a while, not after something like that.

He walked toward the front door, unarmed the system to open it, rearmed it before making his way down the steps, and out into the yard. Hands clasped behind his head, he breathed in deep. Not even fresh mountain air would clear up the pain in his chest. He let out a deep scream, that was half groan and half sob.

The unlit cigarette dangled from his lips and he let it fall. He hadn't had a smoke in days, too wrapped around Bella and the situation to want one. Though darkness had fell, shadows lingered around the lighted portion of the property. He ran around the perimeter, but sensed nothing. His feet eventually led him toward the pond.

There, he reached for his last vice, having already given up alcohol. In his hand, he crumpled up the pack and threw it in the water, intending to fish it out later. He watched the pack float along the surface as he sat along the pier's edge.

Every time he closed his eyes, his mind replayed the latest incident. One he'd never forget. He'd never had to lay a hand on a woman like that, ever, even as a cop. "It was the only way," he reasoned, knowing that it would do him no good.

It was well over an hour before someone came to look for him. He heard their approach, the groaning wood beneath their feet giving them away. A look over his shoulder confirmed that it was Charlie and not a threat, at least not one from a ruthless killer.

"She's asking for you," he said.

Edward nodded. "How can I face her now?"

"If you hadn't done it, I probably would've." Edward seriously doubted that he could. "Why is this happening to her?" He hated that he couldn't protect her from the supernatural, he had no power when it came to that part of her life.

"I don't know." Charlie shifted on his feet, his hand in his pockets, as he looked over the water. "It took me three fucking murders to figure out that she wasn't merely dreaming."

"That's when you figured out she was probably buried alive like the others."

He nodded. "I lost my wife again today."

"I'm sorry, Charlie."

They said nothing for several minutes, but Edward had to make something clear. "You know what this means don't you?" He knew, and personally had no problem with it. "He has to die."

Charlie hummed. "Yes. It's the only way she'd be free from him. If he gets hurt in prison, she'd likely experience it." Edward couldn't keep the shudder from making his shoulders creep up in disgust and fear.

"Garrett won't appreciate it." Edward didn't give a shit what the agent wanted.

"If he hadn't figured it out by now, he's in the wrong business."

"In the end, if it comes to murder, I'll take the damn fall for her."

"I would, too." After another silent minute, Charlie sat beside Edward. "Getting too old for this shit," he groaned.

"That was damn good tackle." Edward rubbed the right side of his ribs, they'd be sore for a while. "You know, for an old man."

Charlie chuckled. "She's already forgiven you. She'd be out here if I hadn't threatened to strap her down."

"It's in her nature now, to forgive."

Charlie bumped Edward's shoulder. "Not so much when she was a kid. She held onto a grudge as if it was a lifeline. One time I grounded her for three weeks, for the belly button ring, didn't say a word to me the whole time. I hated every second of it."

"I believe it. She barely said a word to me the next time I saw her after that incident since I had to tell you why you heard her scream from my house."

Again, silence weighed them down.

"Let it go, Edward." Charlie clapped Edward's shoulder. "Apologize if you have to, but let it go. She needs you, and not only to protect her."

Edward said nothing to that for a couple of minutes. "After this is over, I'm taking her somewhere tropical." If he managed not to end up in prison that was exactly what he'd do.

Charlie used Edward's shoulder for support, reiterating he was too old. "I'm going to hold you to that." Something in the way he said it, meant more. It was his way of saying, "Take her, and run."

There was another thing they had to clear the air between them. "I'm pretty sure I love her, Charlie."

"Of course you do," he stated gruffly, offering Edward a hand. "You wouldn't be out here beating yourself up for hurting her."

He took Charlie's hand, and stood. "I hit her."

Edward was so numb that he barely remembered the walk back to the cabin. Only that Bella was there to greet him at the door. She took his hand, leading him to her bedroom. Wrapped around each other, they settled into an exhausted, but troubled sleep.

~oOo~

_He _woke up hours later, having passed out from the pain and exhaustion. Groggily, he made his way to the kitchen, and drank some orange juice. After a quick bite to eat in order to settle his blood sugar levels, he replaced the gauze for some of the deeper cuts on his arms.

The sting behind each one was a swift reminder of his failures. Something he couldn't handle again.

He walked over to the bank of computers and monitors against the east wall. A few news channels were broadcasting repeats of the press conferences about The Grave Maker, another ridiculous title. The case had reached national status again, which meant more work for him.

He looked through his work schedule and realized he had to work in a few hours. Between his private IT business and working part time for 24News, he made ends meet. How else would he pay for all his equipment and wood?

He checked the feed to several possible burial sites for Lizbeth, Heidi, and Bree. There was some activity near an abandoned trail. That eliminated it as a possible location. He couldn't risk someone hiking along the trail as he staged the area for murder.

The latest setback cost him. He had to take a step back, analyze, and regroup. Plan. He would not fail again.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

* * *

Edward slowly dragged the tips of his fingers along Bella's arm. Her sigh made him still his movements, but only for a moment. He couldn't stop touching her, even though he thought he should.

"I'm fine," she whispered, her voice still rough from sleep. He looked up long enough to see that she was watching him closely. One of her soft hands lifted and curled around the back of his neck, turning to her side to face him.

"You're not," he murmured, shaking his head. "I'm not."

Again, she made a small sound of protest. "The question is if you're going to allow all of this," she waved her hand around, "to come between us? Allow it to consume you until you can't focus on catching a killer."

His hand slid along her hips until it fell to his side as he shifted. On his back, it seemed easier to talk than to look her in the eyes. Something he hadn't been able to do since he hit her.

"I'm not going to lie and say I'm fine, when I'm not. It will eat away at me, as it should. If it didn't, I'd be an asshole."

"If it didn't, I'd think you were emotionally stunted." That was Bella, always honest. He grunted in agreement. "It means you care and that you didn't want to do it. Just don't dwell on it, and we'll get past it. Though, if you chose to walk away, I wouldn't blame you."

The softer quality of her voice made him look at her. He propped up on his side and elbow again. "Why would I?" He thought about leaving, but it was only to catch the killer. If he survived, he hoped to return and convince her to leave the cabin and stay with him. "Other than my own issues about hurting you, there's nothing that could send me away, but you."

She mimicked his position, lifting her hand to run over his jaw, chin, and lips. He nipped at the top of her fingers, to make her smile. Unable to resist, he pulled her closer.

"I come with a lot of baggage." She wrapped her arm around him, her head on his chest. "PTSD, my agoraphobia, and this shit with my gift, curse, whatever."

"That may disappear once he's gone," Edward stated.

Bella didn't believe that. Other than seeing through the eyes of the killer and his victims, she had the ability to astral-project. Memories from childhood had sprung up in her mind over the last week since she gained more control.

She used to have dreams of walking through the halls and kitchen at night. In the third grade, Vincent Palmer frightened her. She was so scared that she hid, and later when she knew the coast was clear, she got in trouble for scaring him. He claimed that he saw her as a ghost. He urinated his pants, and all the kids laughed at him. She remembered seeing him do it too, but knew she was in the janitor's closet across the campus at the time.

The incidents were sporadic throughout childhood, stopping when she got older. Then the murders happened, and nothing was the same again.

She looked up and met Edward's concerned gaze. "He has to die, doesn't he?" She already knew the answer. It was the moment and understanding they shared when she was pulled into herself after he struck her.

They knew then.

Edward pulled her on top of him, cautious of her cuts. He said nothing, but that was as clear of an answer as anything he could've said.

~oOo~

Everyone agreed to take the morning off, but once lunch was done, everyone went to work. Billy and Charlie worked on blocking Dante's trail once again. They intended for it to look natural and not intentional, just in case. Garrett and Edward poured over case files, trying to narrow down the pool of suspects the current program produced.

Bella stood by the bulletin board with pictures of the three potential targets pinned on it. "Why is the pool so small?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Garrett stood, hands on his hips as he explained. "Your mother only subbed for a total of seven years, and only kindergarten through third grade. Some people moved and died since then. Add the fact that most schools in the area consisted of two hundred students, grand total for several schools the number of students weren't large. Add ages and hair color, it narrowed it to these three."

She rubbed her forehead. "What would he do when he runs out of victims?" Rubbing her temples, she shook her head. "How did he find my mother anyway?"

"Good questions," Edward said, tossing a file on the table. "Some we may never find answers to."

Bella let out a frustrated groan. "As he was hurting himself, it was so different in his mind. In comparison to the time when he was at the courthouse," she stated, mimicking the motion of cutting her forearms.

It made her shiver.

"How different are you saying?" Garrett asked, watching her warily. Edward didn't blame him, the dark circles under her eyes meant she'd gotten minimal sleep. With all the stress and everything that happened in the last week, it was obvious it was taking a toll on her.

"Like he's two different people maybe?"

Garrett held up his hand, asking, "You mean multiple personalities or are you saying that there are two suspects?"

"That's not right," she groaned, closing her eyes for a moment. "They're the same person, but it's like one of them is an act. He has two different faces."

"Have you picked up anything besides that?" Garrett asked. "This is something the profiler can use to help narrow down that suspect list."

"The killer punishes himself for his failures, and that's something he learned. Sort of like, if you mess up, you pay the price. It's the only way you'll learn your lesson."

"So it comes back to the abuse." Garrett grabbed his phone to type out a text. "We need to include any reported abuse in the program."

Bella bit the corner of her month, grabbing a pencil from the table. "Don't forget that he hates authority figures and something tells me that if it had been reported, any charges were dropped."

Edward sat back, hands clasped behind his head. "Could one of the people that raised him be a cop?"

She remained silent, as her hand formed a fist around a pencil, and hit her palm hard a few times.

"Do all cops carry a nightstick?"

"No, are you remembering something?" Edward rose from his chair to join her.

"Some of the images in my head are all scrambled, and it's taking time to decode them. Some were strong and the strongest was an image of someone in black pants, shoes, and belt. His hands are waist high, slapping a dark stick into his hand. In that memory, the killer is looking out from behind a door or sometimes from under a bed. I never saw the man's face."

"It could be cops, highway patrol, maybe," Edward said, pulling a notebook filled with his scribbles. He added to it quickly.

"Officers in this county do not wear black," Garrett stated, having seen Charlie's deputies in brown uniforms.

"Next county over has tan, and Gadson Country has blue." Edward scrunched his eyes shut for a second, snapping his fingers. "Seattle has black ones."

"We're assuming he's from the same area." Bella cocked a hip, shaking her head. "He may have come here once he found out who his mother was, but that doesn't mean he was raised here."

"Let's assume for now that he was abandoned here. In the area where the killer tends to hunt," Garrett said, making her shudder. "Sorry. Anyway, according to Alistair, there were twelve babies left abandoned at hospitals, churches, or schools the year the killer was likely born."

"According to Charlie, Renee told him she'd been clean for a year."

"For the length of the pregnancy and while she debated on whether to keep the child," Garrett offered.

"Possibly," Bella said, but seemed hesitant. "Though if she was raped by her father, then I think it would be safe to say she would've abandoned it immediately."

"We're assuming he's the father. It could be he abused her because she'd become pregnant." Edward shrugged when they looked at him. "It's one of the main reasons a girl her age leaves, other than sexual assault. She got pregnant and her asshole father hit her and probably even kicked her out. He only told the authorities to save his own ass."

"We should have someone talk to him," Bella said, looking at Garrett.

"He's dead, Bella."

She said nothing, instead turned her attention back to the board. "We're also assuming he was abandoned. What if she gave him to someone?"

"Perhaps adding the reported abuse, even if it's a note on a teacher's file or social services, it should show up. Add in his knowledge of computers and someone that looks like me and my mother, it should narrow it down further." She tapped her chin a few times. "Oh, can we get an artist rendering of what he'd look like by now?"

"Not unless we have a picture of him as a child," Edward stated.

"That's not true," Garrett stated and grabbed his laptop. "There's a program that allows us to create a representation of what a child would look like using the parents' pictures." He typed a few things. "I need pictures of your mother and I can find a picture of your grandfather by grabbing his driver's license photo. That would give us a picture of a child and then we can do an age progression with that."

"How long will it take?" Edward asked.

"For a good one, a few days," he said, still staring at the screen. "I'm sending the information to Alistair, he's better at this part than I am."

"There's this weird chant in my head from when he cuts himself," Bella said, rubbing her temples hard. "He calls himself an abomination." It sounded like confirmation of their suspicions about what happened to her mother.

"Hell, come here." Edward pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her. She nuzzled his chest and sighed.

"I'll see if I can find an old driver's license for your mother too," Garrett said. "I do know one thing, that asshole never found your mother, Bella, nor did he raise any more children after she ran away."

"What happened to my grandmother?" she asked warily.

"She died in the same car accident that killed your grandfather," Garrett replied, but quickly got on the phone with Alistair.

"I know it hurts to hear about all this," Edward whispered, holding her close. "This will help, and we'll finally be able to find out who he is."

"I hope when we do, it'll be on time."

~oOo~

Billy, Charlie, and Garrett left hours later along with Rufus. Mark and Seth, a trusted deputy and an agent, were on the way to offer more security. Someone would remain on alert, watching footage and checking the perimeter constantly.

Alice was still in a coma, while Jasper and her brother Emmett knew about as much as the media. With the exception, that they were aware of Bella's connection to the victims and killer through her ability.

They were skeptical of course, but as they spoke with Edward and Bella via Skype, they started to believe. Alice had shared some memories with Bella, things only she would know about. Jasper wanted to help, and as one of the best psychologists in the state, he worked with the profilers on the case.

Emmett spent what time he could, when he wasn't at the hospital, on the computer. As an experienced computer programmer, he knew some of the best hackers in the world. He was one too. He wanted to use his connections and skills to help catch a killer.

Three days later, they had an image of what the killer may look like, but nothing matched the database. Alistair insisted if Bella's grandfather was her half-brother's father, he should match to someone in the FBI database. Unless the killer had never had a driver's license or photo id recently.

~oOo~

A month passed, with nothing concrete to tie anyone to the murders, that Edward got the call in the middle of the night.

"What do you mean someone was taken?" Bella stirred beside Edward, watching him. "Bella hasn't had an episode." He looked at her to confirm, she shook her head.

"_She fits the look of the others and the kidnapping is similar to them too. It was a routine trip to the cemetery to see her mother's grave, but her husband said she never came home. The car wasn't found there, but there was evidence that she was taken. She dropped her asthma inhaler on the road."_

Edward continued to listen and soon ended the call. "He said someone was taken and that it looks like it was our killer again."

"Then why wouldn't I know that?" She tossed the blankets aside, grabbing a robe. She walked out into the hallway and made her way into the kitchen. "This makes no sense. Why am I not connected anymore?"

She had no problem projecting herself, something she practiced daily in the last few weeks. They worked hard to get her out of the house again, even taking long walks _around _the perimeter of the house. Twice Edward and Bella headed into town in disguise to see a movie, she was doing well.

"Maybe when I hit you," Edward said, his hands clenching at the memory, but continued. "I severed the connection permanently."

"No, that's not it."

Edward hoped it was. He'd rather figure it out the old-fashioned way than to have her suffer through another person's eyes.

"Then what?" he asked, watching as she made tea. He leaned against the counter.

"Copycat, maybe?"

He shook his head. "Even if that was the case, where's the body?"

"You'll find it in the forest, probably not in the custom built box like the others, because it's not the killer."

"You seem awfully sure of yourself," Edward said, crossing over to her. "Why?"

"Because the killer would consider the cemetery sacred ground as he was taught," she said. Her brow creased as she snapped her eyes shut. "Oh my God, the abomination remark, the prayers that seem to play in a loop in my head, he was raised by someone deeply religious."


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

* * *

Edward leaned against the door jamb of their bedroom, arms crossed over his chest as he watched Bella. Whenever she was anxious or nervous, she cleaned or cooked. It was a "cleaning" day.

In the last month, he should've lost his mind stuck in one place with cabin fever. He wasn't. Yet, it made him uncomfortable. He intended to stay with her, but knew they'd have to leave the cabin for good. The few outings they had, not related to the murders, were fun and so good for her.

The problem was, he was too comfortable at the cabin. It felt like home and that could only strengthen her phobia.

"You were right," he said. She flitted from the pile of laundry on the bed to the dresser across the room.

She cocked an eyebrow in question. "I usually am," she said and rewarded him with a teasing smile. "Why don't you tell me what I was right about now?"

He loved her ability to make light of a situation was still intact after everything she endured. Now he had to darken it further.

"The husband killed the wife for the insurance," he said, walking toward her. His chin settled on the top of her head, his hands curving over her hips. She continued to separate and fold clothes, but shifted closer to him.

"Did they find her?" she asked. Despite how soft her voice was, he heard the ache tinged with anger in her tone. He squeezed her waist in comfort.

"Yes," he whispered, kissing her temple. "He'd done everything according to what the media reported. However, we never disclosed that he has cameras inside the box or that he custom makes their coffins."

"I'm sorry that happened to her," she said, sighing. "He probably saw the return of the killer as a perfect opportunity to get rid of her. He's an asshole, and for what, money?"

"Money and jealously is usually why someone murders."

"Like my brother," she hissed, shaking her head. After a few moments, he felt her relax under his hands. "Do you think he moved on?"

"I doubt it, angel," he murmured. "He's waiting for the perfect time." He bent enough to press his lips to her shoulder. Her head lolled to one side, allowing him more freedom to explore.

"What are you doing?" Her voice had a soft, but rougher quality to it.

He smiled against her neck, gently nipping. "I'm distracting you." His hands slipped up from her waist, grazing her sides and with a few tugs, watched the cotton dress she wore pool around her feet.

"You certainly are," she said as she kicked the dress away. "Where are Seth and Mark?"

"Mark left for a supply run and Seth's outside running the perimeter check."

She moaned when he cupped her breasts and gently teased her nipples. Her arms came up and around his neck, whimpering as one of his hands slipped down between her thighs.

"I love your sounds," he whispered in her ear, before pressing open-mouthed kisses along her neck. Her pulse quickened under his tongue, her taste indescribable and addicting. "How you taste." Her hips pushed back against him. "How you move."

She hissed out his name as his fingers tightened between her thighs, the other around her breast. Though he wanted to tell her so much more, he felt he had to wait. For the right time and not when a killer chased them.

Edward distracted her for the rest of the morning.

~oOo~

_He _got the call first thing in the morning, after a long damn night trying to hack Brinnon's Police Department. Before he stopped working for the Chief, he set up a way for him to have access to their computer system.

Emmett, the Doc's brother, had been there for the last week and somehow kicked him off. He had no doubt the man, a well-known computer genius, was updating their system. He likely also saw that someone outside of the department had access. Luckily he had programs and viruses in place in case someone found him. They wouldn't be able to find where the information was going, but since then, the killer hadn't been able to get inside again.

Emmett always seemed to be one-step ahead of him.

Alice's fiancé, Jasper Whitlock, a psychologist turned New York bestseller writer, was working with the FBI. In the end, the killer realized too late, that going after the Doc was a bad idea. He hadn't prepared for the types of connections she had.

He considered another cleansing for his failure.

Before he could do that, news started to spread of another kidnapping. It had similarities to all the victims. It enraged him. He sat for hours watching the night before as authorities worked to find the victim before time ran out for her.

The problem was she was already dead when they found her. Her idiot husband hadn't reported her missing until _after_ he buried her.

For hours the killer had been stuck with Mike working on the story for the evening news. Now home, he settled into a chair and figured out how to make the asshole that dared to impersonate him and insult his vendetta against the children that his mother chose to love and teach.

He pulled out the picture of his mother Pastor Caius had given him. He often thought the old man was in love with her, but he hadn't been. He wanted to help redeem her, because she reminded him of his late sister. When she chose to run away after giving birth, explaining why she couldn't raise her son, Caius took out his grief on him.

The picture shook in his too tight grip. She was beautiful, just like his sister, despite the circles under her eyes. She had promised the pastor that she'd stay to raise her child.

She lied.

Placing the picture of her in a drawer, he pulled up the video footage of the possible gravesites. Determined to choose a victim and bury her in a few days, he only had to choose. He focused on a new plan, one that had the least changes to his MO. After all, the chase and escape of the hunt thrilled him. He wanted them to get close, and when he outsmarted them, he'd have his revenge.

~oOo~

The wolf sat a few hundred feet from the porch as Seth, Edward and Bella ate breakfast the following morning. Mark was sleeping, his watch coming up in a few hours. Panting, the wolf's leg now healed, it watched them and stood as a sentinel.

"I had no idea you knew Jacob," Bella said, smiling at Seth. "He would make sure you're assigned on the case."

Seth, in his six-three glory stood up against the railing, watching the lone wolf. "He saved my sister once. I owe him for doing that, but the truth is, I'd still do it. You're a great person and I can see why Billy and Jake will do anything for you."

"Grew up with them," she whispered, looking away for a moment. "I saved their mother once. There was an accident with a lamp or something, she collapsed and stopped breathing, they panicked, and I didn't. I think they feel it's some kind of life debt or something."

Edward and Seth shared a look. She had no idea what people would do to keep her safe. "Life debt or not, I'm here because I want to be," Seth replied, smiling at her. "I think you have another one that would lay down his life for you."

The wolf yipped, howling briefly before turning and running into the forest. "You sure he isn't rabid?" Bella asked, concern furrowing her brow.

"I'm sure," Seth said, shrugging. "Dad used to run a vet clinic from our house." He winked. "Nothing legal, just old school methods he learned growing up."

She sighed in relief, but suddenly sat ramrod straight. Her hands clenched into tight fists and Edward swore he could hear her teeth grinding. Eyes wide open, she seemed to focus on whatever she was seeing.

"He's at the fucking hospital!"

Seth was already on the phone with Garrett. Edward was trying to reach Charlie, who was planning to visit Jasper and Alice later that day.

"Tell me what you see, angel," he said, taking a hold of her hand. He wanted to keep her tethered to her body. He noticed the moment he touched her, she immediately moved back into her body.

Her dilated eyes focused on him for a moment, narrowing as if she couldn't see him. "He's talking to my dad."

"Fuck," Seth said, whispering the information to Garrett. "Look at his hand, any clues of who he is?"

"Nothing," she said softly. "I don't want him to know I can see through him." Edward already knew this, she was afraid he'd use it against her. She was quiet when she entered his mind. "Oh my God, they're shaking hands and he's leading my dad away from the others."

She started to panic, and already, Edward knew she severed the connection.

"Garrett is on the way to the hospital and calling security." Seth tried to soothe her, but until she heard from her father, nothing would bring her back. Edward held her close as they awaited news.

~oOo~

"It's good to see you again, kid," Charlie said, chuckling. "How's the city treating you?"

"Good, actually," he said and shrugged. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and sniffed a little. "But there's nothing like coming home."

* * *

**AN: I know this will likely make you go, "I know who it is!" I wanted that to happen ;)**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One**

* * *

Charlie had checked on Alice for what felt like the hundredth time in the last month. Her coma was serious, but her ability to breathe on her own, active brain activity, and Jasper's faith prevented the hospital from giving up on her. He hoped that she woke up soon, or else Bella would risk everything to come down to see her.

However, a friendly face from the not so distant past caught his attention before leaving. "I need to ask," Charlie said carefully. "You're not here trying to get a story from me, are you?"

His friend shook his head, clutching his right side. "I had to take a test earlier."

"Ah, I heard about the accident," Charlie said to him, walking down the hall away from the waiting room. "The pastor had pretty strict rules in place and didn't let me come see you." In fact, he hadn't allowed anyone but members of his congregation to see him.

"You stopped by the hospital?"

Shock was clear on the poor man's face. At about five-eight with a slim build, it surprised Charlie that he added some bulk since the three years he last saw him. He hadn't had it easy growing up, constantly running from a home a few towns away. Try as he might, investigators couldn't find anything wrong in his home with the pastor.

Charlie nodded, gesturing toward the side service entrance/exit down the hall. "I did, twice, but he was always there. I don't think he's a fan of mine." Considering Charlie had the pastor investigated more than once, it made sense that he wasn't allowed.

Again, confusion marred his slim brown eyebrows, forcing the young man to push up his glasses.

"Protective," he said by way of answer, shrugging. "He passed away a few months after my accident."

"Sorry, to hear that, heard you had a hard time of it. You punctured a lung and broken leg." The young man nodded, but remained relatively quiet. That was how he always was the year he worked for him, quiet and smart. "You know, you're someone that can help me."

His companion's eyebrows shot up. "Anything," he replied, for a second, seemingly surprised by the quick answer.

"How does someone find another person who changed her identity?"

"Depends on what you have of hers," he said, humming for a second. "Say you have a photo of her, you do a little age progression, if it's been a while of course." Charlie nodded, pulling out a small notepad and pen to take notes. They stood beside the exit door, hidden from view of the parking lot by a large trash bin and a six-foot concrete wall on one side.

Charlie noticed the silence and looked up to find his former employee nervous. "Um, what I'm about to suggest is technically illegal, sir." Charlie waved away his concern. "All right, with today's technology and America's need to secure everything, there are cameras everywhere. You find a very good facial recognition program and hack a few traffic cams, maybe ATMs, and such. You can find anyone. Airport security footage is a lot harder to crack, but they'd be the best bet if the person has the ability to leave the country."

"This conversation is just between you and me, right?" Charlie asked, cocking an eyebrow. The man nodded and shrugged. "I know you work for that prick Mike."

"He is a prick, but yeah, I hear you. I'll do whatever I can to help. Is this about the serial killer?"

"More about my wife," Charlie said. His shoulders relaxed. He looked up at the sky, lost in his regrets and the what if's that had plagued his mind. He heard a quiet, "Sorry," before he felt a pinprick on his neck. The darkening clouds that thundered overhead were the last things he saw before it all went black.

~oOo~

"Daddy!" Bella screamed and cried, tears running down her cheeks as Edward held her close. She already had a few panic attacks and from her quickening breath, she was close to having another. "Just drive!" That was for Seth who was driving toward the hospital. Edward struggled to capture her flailing arms, but the moment he did, she went limp in his arms and burst into sobs again. It'd been like that since they left the cabin and Mark behind.

"Tell me what you see, angel?"

"Nothing," she whimpered, her fists curling around his flannel shirt. "I see him put my dad in the trunk of the car and then nothing." She shook her head, looking up at him with whiskey colored, tear filled eyes. "Why couldn't I see that from my dad's point of view? I don't get it!"

"I feel that I may be able to help with that, Ms. Swan," Seth said from behind the wheel. His obsidian eyes met hers in the rear view mirror before continuing. "You said before to Garrett and the others that you feel that he wears a mask sometimes."

"Yes," she said quietly, her grip on Edward never ceasing, but her eyes were on the young agent.

"Have you seen through his eyes when he's not wearing that mask?"

Bella's eyebrows drew together, her eyes closing as she tried to recall. "The first time was when he hurt himself. There was nothing but self-loathing in that moment. The other time was when he was following my father, though he felt some ill intent, he was having some kind of asthma attack. The next time was when he punished himself after failing to kill Alice, oh god, and then when he's luring my father away from the hospital, he seemed happy to talk to him. I can only see through him when he feels the mask is on, but it isn't, it's the real him. The killer, the one that makes the coffins, the one that buries the victims, I can't see through his eyes. Maybe he does have multiple personalities."

"Maybe, but perhaps you only see through his eyes when he's the most vulnerable."

Seth's words sunk in and Bella shook her head. "I don't know what all that means, but we have to find my father."

"We will," Edward whispered and tightened his arms around her. "We'll find him. The cruiser has a GPS tracker on it, Garrett was already looking for it when we last spoke to him." It was off when they first checked, but they were going to the location of the last signal.

"He's right," Seth said, turning his attention to the hospital parking lot. His eyes widened and he said a few choice curse words. "Looks like a fucking circus again."

"Jesus," Edward hissed, helping Bella pull her hood up over her head. "You stay close to me and keep moving no matter what they say." She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. The panic attacks left her so exhausted she didn't even fight his hold on her.

The second he stepped out with her in his arms, the media moved in, shouting out questions. Most sounded like accusations to Edward and pissed him off. Reluctantly, he placed Bella on her feet, tucked her against his side, and led the way toward the entrance. Police kept the media back, but Bella came to a complete stop.

Her hands clenched to her sides and her face was ashen white. Wildly she turned from side to side, as if looking for someone. She batted the hood away from her face, blinded momentarily by bright camera lights. Edward had to capture her face to get her to stop. "What is it?"

"He's here! Watching me!" Her voice started to rise from a whisper. "Right now, he's watching me!" She fought his hold and reached out to her right, cursing. "I know you're there! Come out! Where's my father?" She started to push at the cameras and microphones in her face, blindly searching ahead of her. Suddenly, she lunged at a cameraman, screaming, "It's you! It's you! Where is he? Where's my father?"

She was hysterical, screaming and crying at the same time. She dug her hands on the poor man's arms. Edward recognized the man that did some computer work for Charlie, the same one that he caught peeping through Angela Webber's window years earlier. He was trying to fight Bella off with one hand, his glasses askew, and three scratches down his right cheek.

With no other choice, Edward wrapped his arms around Bella from behind, her body shaking and kicking out at the man. Still screaming out the same question repeatedly, but she seemed confused, turning to hit Aro and Mike who stood close by firing questions at her. In the melee, a doctor armed with a needle, led by Seth, struggled to stick her arm. When they finally did, her eyes last settled on the cameraman as she slipped into a medicated sleep.

As Edward carried her inside they hospital, worry clung to him. Had she lost it or had she pointed fingers to the right man?

Seth, ever cautious, followed the cameraman toward the news van where he'd gone to clean up his wounds minutes later, only to find the news van already gone and a pissed of Mike on the phone.

Cursing, he called Alistair and asked him to pull anything on him. Alistair called him back within minutes. "I did a rough match, it's him. I checked into Renee's real past, going on a hunch. I did some more baby pictures using other members of her family. It wasn't her father that got her pregnant, it was her step-uncle. That's why the age progression wasn't a match the first time. Now it does. Everything fucking fits."

"Now, how do we find Charlie with that information and him for that matter?"

"Garrett and Alex already located the vehicle and are heading out there right now," he said. "It's not far from where he buried Edward. I'm heading out with the others to grab Mr. Cheney. We'll get him."

"I'll let Bella know," Seth said, wincing. She was going to hate him since he was the reason he had her sedated, but she had three panic attacks after leaving the cabin. He didn't want her to hurt herself. "Keep us posted."

"Will do," Alistair said, hanging up.

Seth made his way inside the hospital and found Edward sitting beside Bella's bedside as she slept. "We let him get away, didn't we?" he asked, not bothering to look up.

"Alistair says Ben Cheney is a perfect match, of course now we have to prove it. Just because he matches the profile and could be Bella's long lost brother…"

Bella sat up in her bed, her hands clutching her throat. "He has Bree!"

"Fuck!" Seth said, pulling out his phone. "Just about everyone was pulled in to find Charlie and grab the damn cameraman."

Edward shook his head as he climbed into the bed to hold Bella. She continued to mutter out incoherent words, rocking back and forth on the bed. Her eyes now blank as she tried to find the young woman through her gift.

"Damn him!" she cried. "He's knocking them out completely now. I can't see through her eyes like my dad, she's not aware enough for me to see."

"It was his plan all along," Edward said, shaking his head. "He kidnapped Charlie, knowing we'd use all our resources to find him. He's the chief and a well-known person in the community. Bella exposing him as she did probably didn't help."

"Now he knows I can see through his eyes too," she said, her body curling against Edward's strong and warm one. Her eyes lifted from her lap and met the agent's head on. "Seth, find my father. If something happens to him because you had me knocked out, I'll kill you."

Edward wasn't sure what caused his body to shiver. It could've been her ghostly figure behind Seth, or the distinct promise in her words, he knew she spoke the truth. She'd kill him if Charlie didn't survive.

He started to worry more. Seven years of watching and feeling people die through their eyes. What would that do to a person?


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

* * *

Ben tugged on his hair, threading his fingers together behind his head. He needed to think. The cameras he had in place for possible sites to bury his latest victim all showed someone near it. That was unexpected. He always did a last minute check before going to a site. The one he had already prepped, two young hitchhikers were in the abandoned silo, and had found the box and plastic sheeting he left there to use. The checked the other, but there was a family of four camping near one location.

He had an extra coffin, but it added more work and time. The victim would awaken soon and he had to have her buried six feet under before that happened. It was the only way to ensure that his sister wouldn't find the location as easily as Edward and Alice's burial sites.

He was angrier than ever with Bella, no one would ever understand. His mother didn't abandon her to some religious man that punished him for his misdeeds. One that told him daily that he was an abomination and that he had to pay for his father's sins. Not only had their mother loved and raised Bella for years, she had the love of her father.

He never had that, and never would.

She had everything that should've been his.

He tossed the table before him, crying out in rage and sadness. He didn't have time for it. The police knew his identity and would find him soon. He grabbed his laptop and started to set up a virus to destroy the rest of his computer equipment.

Something on one of the monitors he set up caught his eye. He tapped a few buttons on a keyboard and put the footage on the big screen. On the screen was a black and white image of one of the possible burial sites he eliminated. Before it appeared as if someone was using it too often, which made it unusable to bury a victim. He frantically searched for past footage and went through it until he saw two figures working on blocking the trail again.

One of them was Charlie. Ben grabbed his laptop and hacked the county property information. The location of Dante's Trail was in the middle of government owned property, except for almost fifty acres two miles from the trail that belonged to a local reservation.

Sweat beaded over his top lip and tension slid down his spine as he worked to find aerial photographs of the area. A cabin sat on the property, cleared of trees all the way around it for almost half an acre. As if the owner wanted to ensure no one could sneak on her.

That was where she hid all this time. He knew at that moment what he had to do.

~oOo~

His head hurt, the pain throbbing in the back and radiating toward his eyes. The heat that surrounded him was heavy, thick with a metallic scent. He groaned and rubbed the sore area, his hand coming back wet with blood.

"Fuck," he hissed and tried to move, but it was too hard to. His elbow hit something and figured out that he was in something. "Goddamn it." His breath hitched when he realized that his daughter was likely watching through him now. "Baby, close your eyes, Bells."

He tried to keep calm, not wanting to run out of air too soon. It was too dark to see. Lifting his hands to the roof, he patted the area above him and found that it was metal. That didn't match up with the previous victims. Had the killer wanted to make sure he couldn't get away? The metal had a familiar grid pattern on it, like the custom specialty box he had put in the back of his cruiser.

The killer hadn't buried him.

Cramped as he was, he had to work to get the small pen/knife flashlight he had sewn into the lining of his jacket. With all that happened already, he started taking extra precautions weeks before. He cursed as he struggled, and would likely suffer from multiple bruises after the incident.

Finally, when his fingers enclosed around the tip he pulled it free. "Hallelujah!" He turned on the flashlight, pointing the beam toward the locking mechanism. The emergency release near it was disabled.

"Stupid asshole," he groaned and pounded twice on the roof. The one thing about the box, he wouldn't run out of air. It had hinges and even air holes throughout. He directed the light beam along the top and found some of them. His pinky finger fit easily through one and knew Ben hadn't wanted him to die.

That meant he was a damn distraction.

"Bella, if you can hear me, go after whoever he took. I'm okay." He felt ridiculous talking to himself, but had little choice in the matter, he didn't sense her as she described that the others had. He would try anything, because he didn't want to be partly responsible for one of the young women dying.

His fingers found the hinges along the back of the box and whooped when he encountered the special pins he made. They were the kind that made it easy to pull free and remove the top. He pulled his penlight apart, and slipped the light portion into his mouth, directing the beam toward the hinges. Using the penknife as leverage he pulled the pins from the hinges, but it was taking a long time.

"Charlie!" He heard voices calling out to him and closed his eyes in relief.

"I'm here!" He pulled the last pin free and battled with the heavy lid, pounding it as the voices moved closer. One of them sounded like Garrett. He hoped they figured out who the killer was and had him in custody. He shifted until he added the strength of his knees to push on the loose side of the lid. A few pushes popped the locking mechanism, freeing him. The lid toppled into the back seat as Garrett rushed to pop the back door of his SUV cruiser.

"You're alive," Garrett said, out of breath as he grabbed Charlie's arm. Together they were able to get him out, but Charlie was weak from the cramped conditions to stand on his own. He needed Garrett's support to hold him up.

Charlie had trouble breathing, an ache developing in his chest as his head spun. "It was Ben Cheney. He works with that reporter Mike Newton."

"We know, Charlie," Garrett said as he led them toward the ambulance. "Let's have them take a look at your head."

"Ah fuck, tell me you got the little shit."

"No, Bella pointed him right out at the hospital, but she was hysterical. They had no idea if she was thinking logical so he's gone."

Charlie grabbed Garrett by the lapels of his pristine grey suit. "You thought she was fucking hysterical. You do know that you being here, looking for me means he went after her or another woman. Don't you?"

"Calm down," Garrett replied and winced from Charlie's firm grip. "Bella is safe at the hospital."

"Did he get another one?" Charlie asked. His face contorted into one of quiet anger. It was the kind that most would step away from, run from if they could. Calculating and lethal, that was the look on Charlie's face. "That bastard killed my wife, buried my daughter, and spared me because I once gave a shit about him. I will not live with another's death on my goddamn conscious. Tell me!"

"He has Bree."

Charlie clutched at his chest, shaking his head. "Jesus. She's the youngest one." Garrett's face blurred, darkness spread inward from the fringes of his vision. He heard Garrett talk, but his voice was too distant to hear.

~oOo~

"Get me out of this hospital now," Bella hissed as she struggled against the nurse's hold. "Edward, tell them to let me go."

"They will once they take some blood from you, angel," he said in a voice as calmly as possible. "They're making sure you're fine physically, that's all."

"Fine," she whispered, but glared at the nurse. She looked at Edward. "Is there any word from anyone?"

"Not yet," he said, holding her hand as she locked her gaze on him. He knew she was afraid of blood, had been since she was younger. Her grip tightened, her eyes widening way before the nurse used the needle. Edward knew why by the way they wildly moved from side to side. He bent closer, to keep the nurse from listening. "What do you see?"

"It's my dad," she whispered. "You'll get a call in three, two…"

Edward's cell phone rang and startled him. Spooked by her ability, he answered it on the third ring, "Yeah?"

"We're bringing Charlie in," Garrett said, his voice cutting out twice. "He's okay, but passed out on us though. It was like an oven in that steel box of his. Have you heard from Alistair or anything on the victim?"

"Nothing yet," Edward replied, turning away from Bella and the nurse. "We're still at the hospital." He gave Bella's hand a squeeze, hoping she'd understand that he had to leave the room. They worked hard for the last month to unsure no one knew about her abilities. It was one reason why Seth had her sedated earlier. Hospital personnel were the last people that should know. They could try to have her committed and that wasn't an option.

Bella offered him a small smile.

He walked out, but remained just outside her room. From the small window in the door, he could keep an eye on her. "She can't see anything this time. She thinks it's because he knocked her out completely."

"Damn it," Garrett said. "Bree has been gone an hour and we have no idea if he's lost his shit because of what happened with Bella."

"I know." Edward rubbed at the back of his neck, worried and confused. "News vans like the one he drove would also have GPS."

"It was found abandoned down the road from where Bree was taken."

"Her car?"

"It's an older model, no GPS. They found her phone and purse on the side of the road."

"Have someone check out my burial site and Bella's, he'd find that shit symbolic."

"I had two sets of agents head out there. I'm waiting for their calls." The sound of sirens broke his words. "We're heading out. I'll keep you posted."

Edward returned to Bella's side and within ten minutes, they released her AMA from the hospital. They made their way to a truck Seth left for them. "Charlie is on the way in, Bella," Edward said, speeding up. "Why are we leaving?"

"I don't know," she said and rubbed her temples. "I just know we're not in the right place." She tightened his jacket she wore against her chest. "Go to Ben's apartment, please." Edward had found an address thanks to Mike. He kept quiet as Bella worked through whatever she'd last seen in the killer's mind.

"You do know you need a warrant to search his apartment right?" Bella asked.

He called Mark the moment they realized the killer took Charlie, he left the cabin using Bella's truck, determined to help. "That's why Mark and Seth are meeting us there."

She looked at him with watery eyes. "You knew I'd ask to go there."

"Of course," he answered and made another turn. "Let's hope we can find something there."

~oOo~

Mark and Seth met them outside of Ben's apartment. "There's only a damn basic computer in there," Seth said, shaking his head. "Considering his programming abilities, there's no way that's enough to take care of his needs. The rest of the team is looking but we can't find anything inside so far that would link him to the murders. The landlord did say the suspect had a large mini storage unit that he rents next door that he used it for woodworking."

"That's got to be it," Edward said, helping Bella from the truck. "The largest units are big enough to fit his computer equipment, his woodworking tools, and those coffins he likes to make."

"Luckily, I spoke with the landlord ahead of time. This warrant is good for it, too." Mark said with a smile, waving a piece of paper. "Let's go."

With Bella's hand in Edward's, they made their way toward the rental units. A paunchy security guard named Paul led them to the unit in question. He wasn't exactly happy having to miss his favorite show, but Seth's badge was enough to get the asshole off his ass.

"Stay back," Edward said as he noticed light coming from under the roll away door. "Stay with Bella, Mark" Seth and Mark armed themselves, but Mark remained with Bella.

Seth and Edward stood on either side of the door and both started to count down silently. They nodded less than a second before throwing the door opened fully. Edward made his way inside first, followed quickly by Seth. They called out an, "All clear" within moments of each other.

They emerged a minute later to lead Bella inside. "It's not pretty," Edward warned, squeezing her hand.

"I know."

On one wall was a morbid, oversized version case analysis, with pictures of each victim and their connection to Renee. They found large maps, three counties wide, spread over another wall. Small flags marked places out everywhere and of every color. Some made no sense, while others were to burial sites of previous victims. Against the west wall was a bank of monitors with a large central one.

"How does someone afford all this?" Bella asked. Her eyes were wide, her brow creased, as she took it all in.

"The suspect is well versed in computer programming," Seth indicated, tossing a few destroyed flash drives. "I've been getting constant updates from Alistair and our tech analysts. They think he's behind a theft of approximately a quarter of a million dollars eight years ago. Not much by some of our well known cyber thieves."

"That's the point," Bella stated as she studied the map. "With notoriety that comes with million dollar thefts, they would get him too much attention and force authorities to use all means necessary to find him. Smaller thefts that are spaced out take less precedence and allow him to continue with his plan to kill me and the others while financing it."

Edward rifled through records and some notebooks, only to find them all written in a secret code. "Most of this shit is useless unless you have a cipher or crack the code and our people won't find that in time." He cursed several times, before quieting again for a few minutes. "Did he always plan on going after the other victims after Bella?" he asked somewhat absently.

Bella stilled as his words registered something she thought of often. "If I had died…"

Edward pointed at her, shaking his head. "Don't fucking finish that damn sentence. It is not your fault, it's his."

A tear slipped down her cheek as she nodded. There was no use in arguing, it was a waste of time and energy. A part of her knew he was right, but it hardly made her feel better. She walked over to a cabinet and carefully opened it, taking a few steps back in surprise.

"Oh God," she whispered, catching everyone's attention. Inside were hundreds of pictures of her, taken before her mother disappeared and up until she was a victim. In the center was a familiar photograph of Renee holding Bella as she tried a skateboard the day of her birthday, several cut marks distorted what should've been her face. On one door of the cabinet were pictures of all the victims, but with her face. "Oh God."

Edward pulled her against his chest as she stared at some kind of shrine Ben had built. Mark cleared his throat a few moments later. "I think I know where he's burying Ms. Bree."

"Where?" Bella asked.

He looked from Seth to Edward, before finally meeting her eyes. He held up a picture of a recognizable back yard. "It's your dad's house."


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

* * *

Edward and Bella ran around the truck and slid inside, as Seth came in from the other side. Mark waved from a cruiser and led the way toward Charlie's house fifteen minutes away. Before they hit the main road the familiar red and blue lights glowed around them.

Seth was on the radio giving the dispatcher information, calling for backup from FBI and the police. Another police car was on patrol and was closer to the house. They would reach the house within ten minutes.

By then, Ben had over an hour on them.

"Garrett," Edward barked through his phone. "We found his fucking lair and he had pictures of Charlie's backyard."

"My God," Garrett stated, cursing for a bit. "I've been staying with Charlie at the house for the last month. There was a work order from the local gas company to dig up the yard to start a revamping of the entire system there. Fucking hell, all he has to do is dump her in there!"

That could not be coincidental. "We don't even know he'll even take the time to put her in a goddamn box."

"He has," Bella whispered beside him. Her expression blank and her eyes unfocused, swaying slightly in her seat.

"Fuck," Edward hissed and stepped on it. "Bella can see that Bree's already been buried!" He hung up, tossing the phone on the dash. He slipped a hand around the back of her neck and hoped it would serve as her anchor. "Tell her to hold on, angel. We're almost there."

The radio crackled in the silence that followed several minutes later. "Shots fired. I repeat shots fired," the dispatcher said, rattling off Charlie's address shortly after and requesting backup.

They were almost there. Edward weaved through traffic, riding Mark's taillights close. Police lights up the road ahead casted an unearthly glow on the houses of the usually quiet neighborhood. The truck's brakes screeched a horrible wail of protest, as the truck slammed into a stop.

The men exited quickly, assessing the situation.

In the center of the seat Bella remained deadly still. Her eyes were too far away, seemingly not there with all the others. Awareness drew her out enough to do what she needed to do. She slid behind the steering wheel and started the truck.

There was enough of herself in her mind to close her door and buckle up. She spared one look toward the scene as countless others ran toward the backyard. Among the chaos, she saw her astral figure take more shape, and become more pronounced. It looked like her as it stood watching over the men and women that struggled to unearth Bree.

She already knew the killer was not there and that it was time to meet her brother.

~oOo~

Information seemed to come from too many sources. The killer had been there, they were sure of it. A figure was seen fleeing the premises, they tried to get the suspect to stop, but had to fire a few warning shots.

Edward looked toward the people that worked to dig up the young victim. A bright work lamp suddenly blinded him, taking precious seconds to regain his vision. In the whirl of iridescent colors, stood Bella when he knew she was still in the truck. "Fuck," he groaned, spinning around in time to see the truck they arrived in pull away from the curb. "She's going after him!"

Mark and Seth flanked him and immediately barked out orders to the others before reaching the truck. "What the hell is she thinking?" Mark asked once inside.

"I have no idea," Edward said, weaving through traffic. Half the damn town showed up to gawk at the scene. He stuck his head out the window and told a driver if he didn't get out of his way he'd personally shoot him. They lost sight of the truck too fast and couldn't seem to find any sign of it after checking several possible routes.

Twenty minutes later, Seth's cell phone rang as they continued outside of town. "That was Benjamin, our tech guy, says he was able to get some video footage from one of the hard drives."

Dread filled Edward's stomach. "What did he find?"

"Footage of Billy and Charlie making sure no one used Dante's Trail again."

Edward spun the truck around and headed across town. "He knows about the cabin."

~oOo~

Bella changed into a comfortable set of leggings and thermal, grabbing one of Edward's flannel shirts from the closet. The shower she'd taken had done the job. She felt refreshed and even energized.

She hated playing bait, but she knew the killer would not come for her until she was alone. That was something that would never happen under the watchful eye of Edward and the others sworn to protect her. She couldn't condone anyone else falling victim to the sick man any longer.

It mattered little that he was blood and family, it would end soon.

~oOo~

The system was easy enough to disable after Ben purposely triggered it. He wanted her to know he was coming. He didn't know what made her leave her protectors behind, but she was determined to lose them. He'd been watching the backyard a mile from the burial site from his laptop, as they blissfully fell for his trap.

While the authorities worked to free the young woman from her deathbed, he followed his sister. Once he realized she didn't intend for anyone to join in the official introduction, he left for the cabin. It took some time to reach it other than the disguised driveway. With tools at his disposal, he found the perfect spot to bury his naive sister. He regretted his inability to lug one of his beautiful coffins to the location since he hadn't enough time to prepare for killing her yet. However, the idea of her chocking on the dirt that buried their secrets would be sufficient to please him.

She'd choke on their dirty secrets.

~oOo~

Edward cursed, his foot on the pedal to the floor, but he already knew he'd be too late. "I never told her." Neither man said anything for several minutes.

"She knows," Seth said softly, looking out the window.

"Everyone could see it," Mark added, his voice remarkably thick. "I've known that girl since she was in diapers." Almost the same age as Edward, it made sense the man would do anything for her too. He did manage to grow up with her since Mark never left their hometown as he had.

"I still should've told her."

Mark patted his shoulder from the backseat. "You'll get your chance."

He hoped so, and as the cold dark road loomed ahead, Edward prayed for the first time in years. Not to a God, he told himself he no longer believed in, but to his late mother, sister and to Renee, to watch over his Bella.

~oOo~

She arranged the chair against the wall, giving her the perfect view of all entrances to the living room. The system already alerted her of an intruder. Having tricked Edward and others with her astral projection at her dad's house, she had enough time to ensure she had control of the confrontation with the killer.

Ben would come for her, now that he knew where she was. The time in the truck from his storage unit to her childhood home, she hadn't seen anything through the victim, but the killer. She refused to acknowledge him as her brother, not yet. She knew there was no appealing to that side of him. He was long gone.

Malicious intent and the fact that he was watching the scene was the only reason his mind opened up enough for her to find him.

She held the shotgun over the arm of the wingchair and over her leg, her finger on the trigger. Her mind immediately took inventory of where she hid all her weapons in the room, on her. The crackle of the fire was the only sound, other than the clock that ticked toward some countdown.

Everything led to that moment, and it all started with a creak on the floor.

"Come out, brother. There's no sense in hiding any longer. I know all your dirty little secrets, but I think it's time you learn something new."

He seemed to appear out of the shadows, as he was made of the darkness. Eyes as bright as hers were the first thing she could see. A slash of light lit up a slight upturned smile. His hair was darker than her own, but she recognized their shared features beside the color of their eyes. It was there in the softness of their cheeks and matching stubborn chins. His had a cleft, something he inherited from his father.

"Or should I call you cousin?" She said it with such aloofness that he stilled in his approach, shrugging. "I'm not sure which frankly."

"What are you talking about?"

She smiled, but it slowly turned to sneer. "You didn't bother to find out who your father was, did you?"

"There was nothing on record." The words sharply edged with anger. He wouldn't know about their mother's real name.

"You don't know everything about our mother, but it was her uncle," she said, but added nothing. She didn't have to. It was all there in the allegation in her words.

"You're lying."

Ben watched as his sister cocked her head to one side prettily. She was so like their mother, innocent with a streak of malevolence and fierce protection inside her. They'd die for others, true martyrs to the very end.

"I have no secrets," she said, but then shook her head. "Well, that's not true. I have a couple more." From the look on her face, Ben believed it. He knew the public had no knowledge of her ability. Try as he might, he didn't seem to have it. He had hoped it was hereditary, but research indicated if abilities such as hers were at all possible, it would likely come from her father's side.

Yet another thing she had that he didn't.

"Can you truly see through the eyes of my victims?"

"I can."

He stepped closer. "How? Why?"

"We suspect I had the ability as a child, but was dormant for years. It resurfaced after you kidnapped me. Not only are we linked by blood, but you made me a victim." She cocked a thin eyebrow high. "One that survived that is."

"Why now, I don't understand?" he asked. Father Caius often told him he was too curious for his own good.

"I suspect that I'm supposed to be the one that stops you." She shifted the gun to point the barrel directly towards his chest. From that range, he'd had a hole the size of her fist where his heart was if she shot him.

"That's not going to happen."

She laughed. It was a delightful sound. He often heard her laugh shortly before he killed their mother. Sadly, there was very little since then.

"Did you always plan to kill the others?" she asked, her voice much softer than before. He realized that she wanted to know, that his answer was important to her.

"No. It wasn't until I realized that you managed to dig yourself out that I failed. It didn't matter if you laid comatose for weeks or years after, or even died after you freed yourself. The fact remained that you escaped and I failed to kill you."

"So you had to correct your failure," she said quietly. "That's why they shared my features and once you started, you couldn't stop."

"They had time with her. All of them," he said, advancing another step. "The authority figures were a damn plus. The ones assigned to my case never found anything wrong in the home she left me in, with that man. Most were too scared to point a finger at a man of the cloth. Chose not to believe a man of God could torture the young boy in his care." He quieted, confused for a moment.

"You let my father live because you found he tried to save you."

He nodded. "I won't go after him after you die." He was another step closer.

She didn't seem to notice. Her eyes closed, and he tried to reach for her. Before he could, something caught the corner of his eye. It was a figure in the dark, watching him but doing nothing to stop him. His eyes narrowed and swore it wasn't there now.

Ignoring the icy fingers that curled down his spine, he lunged and forced the barrel of the gun downward just as it went off. The shot glanced off his thigh, before clattering to the floor. He roared in pain and anger and grabbed her by the hair. She screamed and tore at his face with nails and hard fingers.

When it did nothing more than anger him, he forced her head back to look at him. She spat at his face at the same time she stuck her nails into his injury. The pain was so intense. His hold released enough for her to send him stumbling backward at the same time she did. The back of his head bounced on the wood floor, his eyes closing on impact. He curled to his side in pain, his hand on his thigh, but felt the cool metal against his skin on his back.

Forced to go another route, he grabbed the gun tucked in his pants. "How fucking fitting that you die by your lover's weapon." He opened his eyes and saw her running toward the front door. It hurt to move, but he managed. His throat was on fire with his need to breathe. "I guess this is my way of saying he'd never be good enough for you, little sister."

Before she reached for the knob, her body froze, as if suspended in the air as he filled her back with lead. Yet, her scream came from somewhere behind him.

* * *

**AN: I'll try to update tomorrow. Wish me luck on that!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34 **

* * *

Bella arched away from the floor, her back on fire. She hadn't thought about her connection to her astral projection. Like before, in the minds of the victims and the killer, she felt what they did. Her mind too closely connected to the non-corporal version of herself. It didn't matter that her astral projection couldn't touch anything and that the bullets passed straight through, her mind did not see the distinction between them both.

"It's not real. It's not real," she chanted internally.

When she fell as Ben had, not only did she feel the subdued effect of the bullets, but the impact of her body hitting the floor. Her head pounded as she tried to convince herself that she wasn't dead. The blood she felt, warm and sticky, sliding down her back wasn't real. Yet, she knew from the killer's last self-inflicted punishment, she'd bare the wounds. Just not as deep.

She gasped for breath, her lungs struggling to fill with life-giving air. _His _voice rattled around in her head and out, his confusion palpable. She felt him move from close to her feet where he lay. He cursed and groaned. She opened her eyes enough to see him clutch his thigh. The wound was large, but she knew enough about anatomy to know she missed the fucking artery.

She crab crawled away from him, noticing that her left arm was numb from the fall. It was likely dislocated, but she renewed her efforts as Ben cried out her name. She looked back long enough to see him cinching a thick leather belt around his leg.

Another look around and she noticed the shotgun halfway under the chair. She made a grab for it, nearly sobbing that the angle wouldn't allow enough for her to lift it up as Ben rose to his hands and knees. She tried to slide it out from underneath, only for her body to hinder her. She screamed as Ben stood on two feet, looming closer. Too weak to project yet, she crawled away.

"How do you move so fast?" he asked. The blood, he thought he really shot her. She felt the way her shirt stuck to her back. "How are you still alive?" She felt the boot of one foot against her hip as she screamed. She automatically kicked out, making contact against his shin. He cursed and made to grab her by the hair but she twisted enough to punch him in the face. It sent him back a few steps and she used the moment to her advantage. She twisted around completely and struck out with her foot twice. The first landed on his groin, nearly sending him to his knees, and the other strike bit into his injured thigh. He roared in pain and he fell wayside as she scrambled to her feet.

His hand grabbed her ankle and yanked back, sending her to the floor again, but not before her forehead hit the end table. Her jaw struck the ground next and she tasted blood. She kicked back, fighting his tightening grip. A hit to his jaw and she was free again.

Seconds ticked away like years as she ran toward one of the weapons she stashed, tearing it and the tape away from under a table near the door. She separated enough from herself to see that he had her shotgun, Edward's gun having landed in the fireplace.

She ducked in time to feel the fragments of the shot fly over her head and hit the wall in front of her. Swinging around, she shot toward his direction but not able to see. A cut on her head sent blood into her eyes, blinding her. A noise caught her attention in front of her from the right, so she shot toward the sound and heard Ben cry out again, but from the left. He tricked her. Again, her extra perception shifted enough to see that he was coming toward her.

The instinct to run had her reaching for the door and finding it. She made to shoot toward the right again, hearing him arm the shotgun before she swung to the left and pulled the trigger. She heard him cry out again, but didn't stick around as the shotgun went off again.

She fled down the porch steps, but heard him pursuing. Her eyes closed enough to connect to her weak projection to find that Ben had dropped the shotgun too. He was struggling to run, his injury making his movements sluggish. She ran despite the fact her body ached everywhere and she was nearly blind, but managed to reach the sanctuary of the forest.

She detected someone reaching the property from the fringes of her ability. She wanted to cry in relief and fear. Ben wasn't down yet and that meant Edward was at risk. That pissed her off, enough for her to turn and shoot toward Ben again. She shot several times in his direction, and twice the gun only clicked. It jammed!

She wiped at her eyes enough to see his body twist to the right, sending him to the ground, as if she hit him. She was too far away to tell. Instinct told her to keep going, even as he rose again to his hands and knees.

_Just die already!_

Weaving through the trees, Bella kept close to the trail to the pond. It was too easy to get lost in the forest and she never found them particularly inviting. She never explored them and now she regretted it.

"Bella!" Ben called out for her. She had to slow down, since she was unable to tell in what direction he was coming from. Frantically, she tried to check if the gun was loaded or just jammed. She tried to remember everything Edward taught her. "Bella! I hear someone coming up the drive! Maybe I should go greet whoever it was."

Her chest was tight with tension as she slowly walked toward his voice. She saw him some hundred yards away, armed with a crossbow. Her heart lodged in her throat as she realized she walked into his trap. She'd gone right where he wanted her. How else could he suddenly have a new weapon? The trees closed in around her, making it hard to breathe. Her eyes darted from place to place, unsure where it was safe to walk. The crap in his storage unit indicated he was well versed in weapons of all kinds, but also animal trapping.

Something white caught her eyes, delicate among the dark forest colors—a rose. Hysteria threatened to steal her breath and to make it all go away with the fog that filled her vision. Already blinded from sweat and blood, she felt herself sway.

She heard him cackle. "That's if they make it through my trap." The words were enough to give her strength, to send another part of her to meet with Edward.

~oOo~

Edward floored it once Seth jumped back into the truck, having dealt with the disguised opening to the driveway. Some of the deep ruts tried to send them off track, but he worked to keep it pointing toward his destination.

"We have to assume he's armed and dangerous," Seth said, pulling out his handgun and checking it. "We know that he has your weapon and from the ammunition found in that unit, he had much more. Is Bella armed?"

Edward looked toward him. "She has a Beretta and a shotgun, along with a few knives. She knows what to do with them." He knew from the tone of her voice, her leaving as she had, a jury could see it as premeditated. Fuck if he'd let her take the fall if she outright killed in cold-blooded murder.

Seth radioed in the latest development to Garrett. "The suspect is on Bella's property and is considered armed and dangerous. We think she headed home."

"Why?" Garrett asked, the sound of sirens wailing in the background.

"We don't know." Seth met Edward's gaze again. "We're going in, send backup." He ended the call before Garrett had a chance to say anything.

"Watch out!" Mark screamed from the backseat.

Edward looked in time to see a figure in the middle of the road. He swerved to the right sending them to a high embankment full of shrubs and debris. It came to a stop halfway up and stuck. He heard the others curse and call out that they were all right.

Something drew his attention outside his window. He bit back the need to sob, as a broken and bleeding Bella stood there, opaque under the waning moonlight. He jumped out of the truck and approached her astral figure.

"Where are you?"

"The forest," she whispered. "He's been hurt, but he's still coming for me. I think he set me up to run into the forest."

Edward started to run, ignoring the calls from the others.

~oOo~

Bella felt like cattle. As time passed, the more she realized that Ben was herding her to the exact location he wanted her to go. The reflection off the pond caught her eye. She couldn't run the risk of being so out in the open. The closer she was to the pond, the more the trees spread out.

Half crouched, she ran away from the picturesque scene. She hadn't heard from Ben for a few minutes, but she knew that Edward was coming. A tree root tried to trip her, her hand reaching out for the tree and scraping it. She winced as she heard the hiss of the arrow in the air. She fell to her knees and rolled several feet down a hill on the other side of the tree. Her body battered and bruised tried to stop the fall. It was no use, there was nothing but thin saplings and dried roots to hold.

Her head hit a rock once she reached the bottom but at least the arrow missed its mark. Dizzy and nauseous, she tried to take inventory. Pain radiated up her leg, something sharp biting at her ankle.

She needed to move before Ben found her. Her hand reached for the weapon she slipped into her pants, but it was gone. "No, no, no." She wanted to cry and scream, but remained quiet. Any sound would bring him running. Her hand rose to wipe at her eyes, the tears there allowed her to see a little better. Her gaze swept the area around her, and she found the gun sitting at the edge, about to fall.

It was the edge of her burial site.

~oOo~

"Ben!" Edward roared as reached the tree line. "Come out, you little fucker!" He'd do anything to keep the monster from Bella. "Don't you want to finish what you started? You failed to kill me, asshole! Come out and let's finish this."

Bella's ghostly carbon copy appeared, almost sending him into a damn tree. "Fuck, stop popping up like that." She cocked an eyebrow, just as she pointed in a direction. He took off and tried to keep his eyes out for Ben. There was no way he'd let that shit get the drop on him again.

The latest rain made the leaves on the ground slippery, making it harder to run. He punished his knees, often landing on them. Every time he ran the wrong way, he heard Bella's voice correct him.

An arrow stuck in a tree had several strands of Bella's dark hair on it. He bit his fist to keep himself in control and resisted the urge to call out again. He moved lithely through the trees and down a steep embankment.

"I'm here," Bella whispered softly. "I'm here." He rushed forward when he saw her near the bottom, her body bent over itself.

"Bella," he said roughly, falling to his knees beside her. "What's wrong?" Her face lifted and in the light, he could see the shine of her tears. Her hair was stringy from sweat and what he guessed was blood. His hands captured her face, his lips pressing hard against hers. "Tell me, are you hurt?"

He felt her nod as he nuzzled her neck and cheek. Her arm shifted and he pulled away to see. "Oh fuck," he hissed and grabbed his weapon. "Your foot." She sobbed softly as she started to shiver violently. Shock was setting in, the pain had to be excruciating.

"I c-can't r-remember how to f-free myself," she said, her voice rough and low. Edward nodded and moved to look at her foot better. The dark metal claws held her delicate ankle in their grip.

He handed her the gun and looked her square in the eye. "Shoot at anything coming toward us." She gestured toward the hole in the ground. "Fuck." He looked down at her ankle and muttered another curse. "The second I release it, it's going to hurt like hell. Bite down on something, you can't scream, baby." She nodded and lifted her sleeve toward her mouth. "Why hasn't he come for you?" The arrow led him to where she was, why hadn't he found you already?

Her lips twitched slightly as she winked. "He thinks he's chasing me."

His large hands cupped the sides of her face before he kissed her. "So fucking smart, I love you." She squeaked, but before she could say anything, he stuffed the fabric in her mouth and pulled open the trap. Her eyes went wide as she screamed around the sleeve and then they rolled back as she lost consciousness.

"Fuck," Edward said, pulling her into his arms after wrapping his shirt around her bloody ankle. One hand on his weapon, he wondered how he planned to get them up the steep hillside.

Just as he shifted Bella to his shoulder, he heard the crack of a twig breaking. As he swung his weapon and shot, blinding pain hit his shoulder. The power of the hit sent him falling back into the grave with Bella right on top of him.

It was exactly where Ben wanted them both.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

* * *

Sweat beaded across his brow as he worked. Mark whispered instructions to Seth, too afraid to startle him and blasting them to kingdom come. Bella's astral projection had stayed behind after Edward ran ahead to tell them of the bomb near the driveway of her home.

Alistair and a bomb squad member by the name of Sam helped guide him via phone on how to disarm it. The cavalry was on the way and if they go any farther than their disabled truck on the side of the dirt road, they'd risk blowing them all up. Thankfully, Ben didn't have the time to set up something more sophisticated or else they'd be in real trouble. The ETA for the closest bomb squad was almost an hour away.

He clipped the dreaded wire and winced, awaiting death, but when it didn't come, Mark and Seth blew simultaneous breaths of relief. Edward had almost fifteen minutes on them as they called in that the bomb was no longer a threat.

"We should've heard something by now," Mark said gravely as he ran on the heels of the younger agent. "We can't even call him, we risk signaling the suspect."

Seth didn't reply, but he felt the same way. In times like that, no news was just as discouraging.

~oOo~

Emmett McCarty was through fighting from the sidelines. He called in a favor and met his colleague Toshiro on a makeshift helipad the FBI had arranged for in an abandoned baseball field. Garrett joined him, flying toward Bella and Edward.

"I am surprised to hear from you after all this time, my friend," Toshiro stated as he made a few course corrections.

"I see you're still wearing that ponytail," Emmett said in a teasing tone, pointing at the long dark, fine hair that fell down the man's back. His vibrancy quickly diminished and his tone grew somber. "Thank you, my friend."

"I understand your need to find justice against the man who took her from you." Toshiro looked toward the storm. "I am forever in your debt for saving my wife, the least I can do is ensure this monster is stopped."

Garrett clasped Emmett's shoulder, noticing how pensive he'd become. Lost in the memory of the blue-eyed girl he loved for so long and had lost too soon.

~oOo~

Edward hit the ground, breaking Bella's fall. It was softer due to the heavy rain over the last few weeks. His eyes rolled as pain radiated along his back and shoulder. He ran a hand over Bella, assuring himself that she was fine. She moaned and started to stir.

He knew the exact moment when she realized what happened.

"No, no, no!" Bella cried as her arms flailed above. She wasn't even aware of Edward, too distraught over haunted memories. She scrambled away, crying out when she put weight on her injured ankle. The pain meant little to her as fear clogged her pores. She waved her arms around her in an attempt to see in the dark.

"Bella," Edward said, hoping to catch her attention. "Baby, I need your help." If she panicked further, it would lessen their chances of survival. She swirled around and fell beside him.

Her hands moved slowly over him, her breath coming out in harsh pants. "I can barely see you," she said, choking on the words. He hissed when she touched the arrow deeply embedded inside his shoulder. "Oh, God."

His hand rose from her thigh to cradle her face. "It's through and through and didn't hit bone," he said in an even tone. He tried to sit up and asked her to try and do the same.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she did as he asked. "When the pain was too much, my projection disappeared nearby. Ben must've assumed that I fell down here."

"How had he dug this damn hole?" Edward asked, finally managing to sit upright. He couldn't see Bella's face, surprised how much darker it had suddenly become.

"He didn't need to," she said as she felt around Edward's wound. "I'm going to need to break a part of the shaft off before it snags on something." She found the courage she needed to get them through this and kept an ear out for Ben. She had no strength to conjure her projection, but her perception outside of herself would detect him if he came any closer. At that moment, she didn't feel his presence. "I'm afraid it could nick an artery or something."

Together they worked to snap a few inches from the end of the arrow, only forcing a grunt from Edward. Talking helped Bella from crying, from focusing on Edward's blood, so she continued. "About ten years ago, the government was attempting to widen the ravine to allow for overflow from heavy rain. The project lost funding early on, and several holes and ruts like this still exist."

"He marked this one with fucking flowers, that's what caught my eye when I found you." He groaned as Bella helped him to his feet, while hopping on one foot herself. "We need to find my gun." Now standing, he tried to determine how deep they were.

"Why hasn't he come down?" Bella sat on her knees again, using her hands to look around the ground.

"Maybe, I got him."

"Fuck, it's too dark," Bella hissed. "I hit his thigh with the shotgun."

Edward controlled his anger about her going off on her own, even though he would've done the same thing if given the chance.

"You are so lucky you're hurt right now and in this fucking situation."

Bella stilled and winced at the anger and fear in his voice. "I know." She shook her head, not bothering to apologize. She'd done what she thought was right at the time. "I thought I hit his shoulder before I ran in the forest." She shrugged when she saw his barely visible shadow still. "I checked through my ability, I hadn't." She wanted to just sit down and cry, but she wouldn't. They needed to get out of there first. "I stopped you on the way because he set up explosives in the driveway."

"Jesus," Edward said, shaking his head. He cursed when he couldn't find his phone. "The cavalry should be on the way."

"I warned Seth and Mark when you ran."

"Goddamn it, I can't see shit!"

"The full moon is covered up by the storm front moving in," she said softly.

"Doesn't explain how the fucker saw me." Edward had to stop and put more pressure around the arrow. The blood flow had stopped, but knew if he caught the arrow on something it would start all over again.

"He was using a set of binoculars earlier. They were kind of big. I remember Dad wanting a pair of them something about night vision." Edward cursed again, not that she blamed him for it. It was a shitty situation. She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on projecting, but to no avail. "Ow." Her foot was practically numb but she'd get a twinge of sharp pain when she tried to put weight on it. Edward pulled her into his arms again. "I'm okay."

Edward knew she wasn't, but reassured himself for the moment. He'd save her somehow. "Come on." He pulled back from their embrace. "The hole is taller than me, but not by much. Let's give you a boost."

"You can't do that without hurting yourself."

Edward pulled her up against his good side, and pushed her toward the wall and upward. She cursed him as she dug her fingers into the dirt and tried to climb up. His hand supported her back, and eventually on her ass. "Push me up again." He did, sending her almost a foot over his head for her hands to catch the edge. "I got it!" Her hands found purchase as Edward continued to push her upward. "I see my gun." She reached for it, but it was too far to her right. Her arms and shoulders ached, her foot having gone completely numb. Not good, but she pushed that aside and tried for the weapon again. The tips of her fingers caught the tip of the barrel and she stretched a little more and grabbed it. "I got the gun."

"Good. Now climb up slowly, and go for help." She started to shake her head. "There's no way I can pull myself up with my shoulder, love."

She ignored her fears and whispered, "Okay." She worked to get her chin above the edge. Her eyes more accustomed to the darkness. "I don't see him." It was hard to keep the fear from her voice.

"Okay." Edward grunted and shifted his hand on her. "One more boost. You get those cute elbows over and you should be able to pull yourself over."

She didn't want to leave him. "Ready." She heard him cry out as he pushed hard enough with _both _hands to get her chest over the edge. She grunted and cried out, her hands slipping through the mud. She was going to fall! A whimper caught her attention before she felt something clamp down on her sleeve.

~oOo~

Jasper held onto Alice's hand, his head on the bed. At that moment, the local authorities worked in tandem with the FBI to catch the killer. To realize that it was someone most of them knew alarmed them. He, himself knew Ben. They attended two classes together in college, when Jasper returned to take a few writing courses.

How could they _not _know?

Bella had fled the scene of the latest victim. Already the hospital was all a buzz, the poor woman had already been dead when they dug her out. Blunt force trauma to the head, something that Ben had only used on Renee, Bella, and Edward. That indicated anger, and his loss of control. That meant more lethal and he prayed for his friends.

The monitor started to beep faster, something he'd grown accustomed to in the last few weeks. They believed that she could possibly be dreaming and that was why her heart rate occasionally spiked. He listened, expecting the steady climb, however, it seemed to go into overdrive. He looked up at the monitor, curious to what could possibly be going through her head.

Suddenly, her hand clamped around his fingers, her eyes snapping open. "Call Edward now! Tell him to yell for Bella to go right! Now!"

~oOo~

Edward crashed against the wall of the fucking hole he was in, the pain nearly blinding him. Yet, he kept his eyes on the outline of Bella's lithe body scrambling to climb out. He heard her yelp. "What's wrong?" She said nothing, forcing him away from the support, but he swayed. "Bella!"

"I'm okay." Her voice was so whisper soft that he wanted to ask her to repeat herself. Soon, her legs disappeared as she climbed the rest of the way out. Her sweet face appeared, smudged with mud and blood. "I'm going toward the left before I climb up, hopefully, the others are here. She dropped the gun into the hole.

He caught it instinctively. "What the fuck? You need this more than I do!"

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving you defenseless." Her features softened. "I love you." She was gone before he could demand she take the damn gun.

"Damn it, Bella!" He knew it was useless, the sudden quietness unsettling. His phone buzzed somewhere. Thankful he kept it on vibrate, he was still able to catch the subtle sound. Surprised to find Jasper's number on the display, he answered quietly.

"Edward, Alice is freaking out over here. She woke up and said to call you and that Bella needs to go right!" From the harsh pants of his friend, Alice wasn't the only one freaking out.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Tell her to go right! Man, she says she sees Bella falling into _another _hole."

"Fuck!" He scrambled for the edge, cursing all the way. Pushing back the pain, he caught the edge with his good arm. He cried out in pain as he used the other one, despite reopening the wound. "Bella! Go right! Go right!"

"What?" When he heard her sweet voice, he hoarsely repeated himself, eventually feeling her tug on his good arm with both hands. "I'm here, I'm here." She cursed as she fell back on her ass to put more leverage in pulling him up. The slippery mud did not help the matter, her feet sending some onto his head.

"I got nothing left in the tank, baby," he whispered. "Let go."

"No!" He felt her still, the silence descending again. "Fuck, he's coming."

"Go! Go to the right!"

He heard her sob as she released him. Still holding on the edge, he saw her outline move away. Yet, he felt something tugging on him. Ben? No, a growl accompanied the attempts. The wolf. With one final effort, he dug his toes into the mud and lifted himself out with the help from the animal they once saved.

~oOo~

Several minutes later, Bella could barely see under the dark, clouded sky. Thunder clapped ever closer, threatening rain would make the trek through the muddy forest impossible. If Edward hadn't called for her earlier, she would've fell into another hole.

The panic from she felt disappeared, but anger replaced it. She should've shot him, but she wanted some answers. At what cost? Edward was seriously hurt for her stupid need to finish this on her own, to protect him.

"I'm such an idiot."

"I thought it was rather noble of you," Ben stated as he slid from behind a tree in front of her. "Stupid, but noble."

Bella limped backward a few steps, lifting a hand between us. "The FBI are almost here."

"Yes, somehow they knew about my booby trap. How is that, Bella?"

He still hadn't figured it out and she wouldn't tell him how it was possible of her to "move" so fast.

"I have no damn idea what you're talking about," she said, throwing her hands in the air in frustration."

He shook his head, clucking his tongue a few times. "Such language, did our mother wash your mouth out often?"

"Why?" Her voice rose an octave high as anger continued to course through her. "Why kill her? What if she would've accepted you if given the chance?"

"I gave her a chance, but she couldn't stand the look of me," he said, his brow furrowing. "I guess now I know why."

"So you killed her for that!"

"No, I killed her because she was willing to leave you, to protect you. Even when I asked if she'd die for you, she said she would. She willingly climbed into the box to do it. That's why!"

Bella closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall again. "You killed her because she loved me." She opened her eyes when she heard him circling her. He was favoring his left side. The clouds shifted enough for her to make out that his right arm sleeve was drenched in blood. Edward had hit him, which was why he hadn't chased her down to the ravine.

"Of course I did." He clenched a hand into a fist, pounding his chest. "I tried to understand how she could love one child and not another. When she was gone, I wanted to be in your life. Tried to come into it, but the more I did, the angrier I became."

Bella decided her half-brother was nuts. He honestly thought she would've accepted him after killing her mother.

She projected herself outward in all directions. Garrett and Seth were at the edge of the forest, and she brushed their minds long enough to show them where they were. Edward, along with their wolf crouched nearby, listening for any indication on which way to go. Too depleted of energy, she snapped back into herself before she could tell him where she was too. She needed another way to signal him.

"You killed my mother! You bastard!" It was the only way to show Edward where they were.

~oOo~

The wolf's torn ears perked up toward the east and he ran off. Edward kept as close as he could, but the animal was too fast and unhindered by the crippling pain. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping him upright, other than the need to protect Bella.

He heard the raised voices as he closed in on Bella and Ben's position. His crossbow aimed at her chest, while he screamed at her. His Bella taking a stand, fists at her sides, legs shoulder width apart as if prepared to fight. The slight bend on her knees and he realized he knew what she was going to do.

He tried to get over roots, mud, and slippery leaves to get there in time. His weapon raised, he didn't have a clear shot. He cursed and continued, keeping his position a secret. Any indication from him and Bella was dead. For the moment, Ben's rage was keeping her alive. It wouldn't last long.

Suddenly, a warning growl captured Ben's attention behind him and Bella saw her chance. She rammed him head first in the gut, sending them both to the ground. The crossbow bounced away, breaking in the process. A fist in his face had blood pouring out of his nose. One of Ben's hands clamped around her throat as the other tried to staunch the flow. He cursed from beneath her, her blows, bruising his face.

"Die!" she screamed. "Die already!" Shifting, she pressed her knee to his thigh, making him roar in pain. The twist of his body allowed for him to toss her off him. She scrambled to her knees, a vicious look of anger on her face. Again, fists raised, she went for him, but he kicked her in the stomach. She fell to her side and rolled twice as Edward joined the melee. Before he could shoot the asshole, Ben pulled out a gun strapped to his ankle. He didn't hesitate and swung it toward Bella.

Edward pulled the trigger at the same time that Ben rolled away. His next bullet hit Ben's shoulder at the same moment his weapon went off. The wolf clamped onto Ben's shoulder at the same time, missing Bella. She threw away his gun and rose to her knees. The wolf shook his head and tore further into the Ben's shoulder, blood everywhere. Bella clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes lifting away from the carnage, they heard the sirens, and Bella met Edward's gaze.

Aimed toward Ben's chest, Edward pulled the trigger.

~oOo~

Both limping out of the forest, red and blue lights greeting them, they held onto each other. They refused assistance, relying on each other. The last they knew, Ben wasn't breathing before the paramedics ran toward the bloody scene. All the noise scared their wolf away, but they knew they'd see him again.

"I feel like one of Bruce Willis's characters from one of his action films," Bella groaned as paramedics insisted they ride to the hospital in an ambulance. They didn't listen. Emmett gave them a ride in a helicopter into town. Safe inside and in the air, Edward pushed hair away from her face, sticky with mud and blood.

"I ought to spank you for the shit you pulled." Her eyes widened comically, before he smirked to show he was joking.

"You're an asshole sometimes."

He shrugged and rested his head back, his arm numb. "What a fucking a mess." They knew that Bree hadn't survived, that Alice was awake with a possible gift of her own, and that Charlie was ready to steal a car to get to his daughter. "Now that it's over, you gonna marry me?"

* * *

**AN: Only an epilogue left. I know there are holes and mistakes I've made while writing this, but I thought it went rather well for my first mystery/suspense fic. Thanks so much for all the love! You've all been amazing. **


	36. Chapter 36

**Epilogue**

* * *

Bella's reply was lost to Edward, because his head fell back and his eyes rolled. The last thing he heard before it all faded to black was she threatening to kick his ass if he didn't wake up.

Damn, he hated when she cried.

The last thing he felt was her slapping the shit out of his cheek, giving him just enough kick to open his eyes, barely. Through heavy lidded slits, he saw her mud splattered face, tears in her pretty eyes. He managed enough energy to give her a half-cocked smile. He might have said something, because she choked on a laugh and shook her head at him.

He saw her lips move as if she was saying something to him. He hoped it was yes.

"He's out," Bella yelled, looking over her shoulder at Emmett. "Make sure there's an ambulance at the field when we get there."

"Already done," Emmett said over the roar of the engine and rotating blades. He handed her a set of headphones and tapped a button on the side. "That better?"

She nodded and returned her attention to Edward. The exhaustion she felt earlier had fled at the thought of him bleeding out. She checked all the wounds he had, but other than the arrow, there wasn't much to explain his loss of consciousness. It wasn't until she loosened his shirt that she found he was wearing a damn vest. That was probably restricting his breathing. She undid several straps and instantly, she saw his chest heave to take in a deep breath. She couldn't take away the weight of the vest off his shoulders, since the arrow had pierced through it.

"Leave it," Toshiro stated through his mike. "He'll be fine." He gestured toward the field, old stadium lights flickered over the dead grass, an ambulance stood by. She mouthed a "thanks" and closed her eyes, curling into Edward's side.

"Tell them, where he goes, I go." She heard Emmett chuckle as her body finally gave in to slumber.

~oOo~

Edward's head felt like a jackhammer was going to town inside. His mouth tasted like a night after one of his whiskey or scotch binges. His tongue wasn't much better, and thought hair was growing on it. Something beeped nearby and after a moment, he recognized the antiseptic smell.

As he tried to remember what happened to cause him the need to be in a hospital, a couple twinges of pain caught his attention. His right shoulder hurt like a bitch and something made his hand on the same side itch. He moved it enough and felt some resistance. IV he thought. His mind started to work harder, synapses lit up as memories assaulted him.

Bug doctor called, buried alive, seeing Bella for the first time in years, the cabin, rescuing Alice, the dark forest. _Shit. _He knew she was near and felt that she was close. "Bella?" His free arm did a half-assed cartwheel in search of her, his eyes snapping open. It didn't matter that his throat was on fucking fire, or that his voice sounded like he swallowed glass and gravel. "A-angel." It wasn't much better than a damn croak. He needed to find Bella. _Now._

That was when he felt a pinch on his left side. "Quit yelling," a soft voice whispered. "I'm trying to sleep."

Warmth and relief seeped deep his chest. "Sorry," he tried again, wincing at the sound of it. She nuzzled his ribs for a moment, and then stretched by his side with her arms over her head. Drugged up or not, she was the sexiest thing to see after waking up. "How long?" he asked.

"About six hours," she murmured and held a cup of water up to his lips. He sipped and once he figured out he'd keep it down, he drank deeply. "They had to do some patching up, tore a lot of pretty muscles with that arrow."

After his second cup of water, he lifted his good arm and tugged on her chin. "Is he gone?"

Her eyes, rimmed red from irritation and likely tears, were the lightest he'd ever seen. "Yes." She looked down, playing with his hospital gown over his chest. "You scared me."

"How do you think I feel after the shit you pulled?"

She peeked up at him with one eye open, the other clenched tightly. "Like I need to be spanked?"

He groaned and laughed at the same time. "Of that spectacular conversation, that stuck with you the most?" When she didn't answer, he whispered her name.

"I remember all of it," she said as she shifted to her knees. How there was room on the hospital bed for them both, he had no idea. "It's good to have a father who's a doctor." She tugged on his gown again, and shrugged. "When he figured out I'd bite anyone that tried to separate me from you, he got us the big bed."

Edward hummed and settled his hand on her hip. "I'll have to thank him later." He pulled at one of her wild curls. "Now, why don't we go back to that helicopter ride?"

She cocked her head to one side and smiled. "You don't remember my answer, do you?"

"Pretty much everything before and after you slapped me is all sort of blurred." She laughed like he hoped she would. "What did you say?"

"Before the slap, I said," she murmured, pausing for dramatic affect. He pinched her ass. "Okay, okay. Jeez, you kept me waiting for six hours, the least you can wait for is ten seconds."

She was wrong about that, he'd been waiting for years to make her his. "Is this what married life is going to be like? You keeping me on my toes and arguing with me."

She rolled her eyes. "Am I arguing?" The serious look on her face lasted only for a few seconds, before she laughed again and puckered up. She planted a kiss on his cheek, then his eyes, before pressing one softly on his lips. "I said, 'yes, you idiot.'"

He remembered now, and she had used those exact words. "Then you threatened to kick my ass and slapped me."

She settled back against his side, his hand sliding down her back. It felt good to have her close again, felt as if it had been weeks instead of only a day or so since he held her.

"You said something about slapping you in the wrong place, too," she said, snorting. It hurt to laugh, but he did anyway. For several seconds neither of them said a word. "They said he killed her before he buried her."

It made sense to Edward. "He wanted to be successful one last time before going to see you."

"Why didn't he just wait?"

Edward shrugged and regretted it. "I have no idea. Maybe after he realized how much Charlie cared for him once upon a time, he blamed you more for the life he didn't have."

"My mom died to save me." She repeated what Ben had told her, what she learned from him. "He went after me anyway."

"Not for years though," Edward said.

"He said he tried to become a part of my life through Charlie, but I think he realized I had everything he wanted other than a mother. He hated that."

Edward kissed the top of her head. "It's over now."

Bella half-shrugged and shook her head. "I can still project."

"And Alice can see the future."

"She only saw what happened to me, but I remember when we were kids, she always had a knack for knowing something was going to happen."

"Maybe surviving allowed you both to strengthen your natural abilities to capture him."

"Then you should have one, too."

Edward sighed and whispered, "I do have one."

She shifted to the side enough to watch his face. "What?"

"I always know when you're near, whether it's your projection or you." He pulled again on a curl. "I just have to learn how to listen to it better."

"So you didn't need me to yell?"

"I was going in the right direction, you're yelling only told me to hurry the fuck up."

They dozed off for another hour before someone intruded on their rest. "Charlie," Edward said hoarsely, as Bella burrowed further against his side and under the blankets.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Like I got shot by an arrow," Edward stated with a straight face, but soon grinned.

Charlie chuckled. "I can honestly say that I don't know many people that can say that."

"I didn't get a chance to ask her. How's her ankle?" He did his best to keep his voice low, the dryness helped make that easy. He wanted her to rest some more.

"No breaks and they stitched up the deeper cuts, but she should be treating it like a sprained ankle." In other words, she shouldn't be in bed with him. Yet, she was and he knew she wouldn't leave his side.

Edward relaxed against his pillow, his hand on her back pulling her tighter against his side. "I'm sorry," he said, closing his eyes against the pain in his temples.

"For?"

"For not protecting her," he said, carelessly shrugging. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from grunting. It barely worked.

"You did the best you could in the situation. How were you supposed to know she'd take off on her own?"

"Yeah, maybe." He shook his head, unable to help a small smile. "She said yes."

"I told you she would." Charlie walked closer, shaking his hand awkwardly. "There are a lot of people waiting to see you two in a couple of hours. Your parents just left and will be back with breakfast."

His stomach rumbled at that moment, earning a poke from Bella again. "Feed the wolf," she mumbled and snuggled closer. They laughed as she covered her head with the blanket and told them to be quiet.

"See you two soon." Charlie rubbed the back of his head. "They're going to want a statement. It was a clean shot, right?"

Edward looked in his eyes and said, "Yes, it was." Charlie understood perfectly.

~oOo~

_**One month later**_

"I can't sleep." Bella flung her leg over both of Edward's and rocked against his hip. Edward chuckled and slid his hand along her thigh, reveling in all the smooth skin.

"I'm not complaining," he murmured. His hand curved over her ass and slid down to the back of her thigh to shift her on top of him. Her hair tickled his chest as she hovered over him. She sat up, teasing him with a little hint of what was in store for him soon.

"It's the noise." She shrugged, but kept her gaze on his nipple that she teased with soft fingertips and stung with sharp nails.

"I know." He slid his hand along the back of her neck, pushing some of her hair back to see her face. Dark circles bruised her pale skin under her eyes. "We can go to the cabin tomorrow."

For the last three weeks, they'd been staying mostly in his Seattle apartment. His PI business required an office in the city, if he planned to be successful. The problem was it aggravated Bella's fears. The city meant more people, danger, and other killers. It hardly helped that she was such a light sleeper, often he woke up to find her body beside him but her mind elsewhere.

There was already a ghost story floating around about a woman that walked the halls of their building. One that looked a lot like her, thankfully no one had been able to give a good description.

He knew he couldn't stay in the city, but trying to find a middle ground was nearly impossible. Their hometown was two hours away, and that was on a good day. Not only was the long commute too hard after a long stakeout, the separation if he stayed in the city while she remained at the cabin was harder.

When Bella stayed at his apartment, she projected and usually found trouble. Two murders, a domestic abuse case, parental abuse and even a home invasion. That was only in the last few weeks, he couldn't imagine what it'd be like in a year. It already made a detective in the local precinct suspicious whenever she called something in. It was the last thing they needed, attention due to her gift. She no longer could feel what victims felt, but she did know when someone was in trouble.

If Edward wanted her to keep her sanity, he had to get her out of the city. If he wanted to keep his own sanity, he had to be with her.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"We'll figure it out." His hands slid up her thighs. "Until then, we should find something to do." Before he had a chance to take advantage of her position, she kissed her way down his chest, sampled the sharp edges of his hips with her tongue and teeth. A few months of teaching her what he enjoyed, and yet she always surprised him when she took over. Lips soft and warm surrounded him, the heat of her mouth made him thrust further inside.

He groaned her name and even a few words too garbled to make sense to anyone but her. She hummed a reply, earning a few more. She loved to tease him and even though he complained about it, he loved it too.

Deeper, faster, warm, it didn't take long before he grunted her name and came in her mouth. His body sated, with his limbs loose and relaxed, but as she curled beside him with a smug smile, he turned the tables on her. She giggled as he flipped her beneath him, teased her in the same tortuous manner. Nips and sucks on her pink peaks, teeth, and tongue along her navel and down between her thighs. She gave into her pleasure with the same passion in which she loved him.

"I think I figured out what to do," she gasped, her fingers still tight in his hair, as she tried to catch her breath.

He worked his way up again, lighting her up from within in a short time. When he reached her mouth and slid inside her, she was speechless, other than whispers of his name and "yes, yes" punctuating every kiss and thrust.

He'd keep her busy until they figured it out. First thing the next morning though, they'd find their way to the courthouse where he'd make her his.

~oOo~

"Who and the fuck is here this early?" Edward grumbled as he reached for his phone to check the time. Six fucking am.

"It's Alice and Jasper," Bella mumbled, having checked. There was no surprising her.

Edward slipped into a pair of jeans and t-shirt, deciding to hit the floor barefoot. He answered the door with the same finesse he would bulldoze a criminal, throwing it open and glaring at their guests. He blamed it on the lack of coffee and that he had to leave a naked Bella in bed.

"This better be good," he said, slamming the door closed as Jasper and Alice pushed right past him. His friend handed him a cup of coffee and smiled. As he sipped on his cup, he saw Alice head toward the bedroom. "Doc, you need to stop right where you are."

The black-haired woman cocked a dark eyebrow as she turned to look at him. "Did you seriously think I'd allow her to get married in jeans and a t-shirt?"

He groaned and shook his head, shooing her away. It was too early to argue with the little demon. "That's still not easy to get used to," he said to Jasper.

"It has its benefits and disadvantages." Jasper waggled his eyebrows, making Edward flip him off as he sat on the couch. "It helps that she only sees things about loved ones and not everyone like Bella does."

"I better call the others."

Jasper clasped his shoulder and grinned. "Already done, Emmett and Toshiro are flying in with Billy, Charlie, and Jake. Garrett and Seth, along with your dad and Esme will be at the courthouse waiting for us."

Edward smiled then, blaming it on the half cup of black coffee he already drank. "I'm getting married today."

"You're also moving and you're starting a business with your wife next month," Alice said from the bedroom.

"The hell we are!"

Bella appeared at the doorway and shrugged. "She found a piece of property of two acres between here and the cabin. The house needs some work, but it'd be great. As for working, think about it. You'll be safer if I take a peek before you go in guns-a-blazing."

"You have no experience." That was bullshit and Edward knew it, but the thought of her in danger did not sit well with him. Yet, the idea of her being able to protect herself did. "You're going through training."

She saluted him, trying to do it with a serious face. It didn't last long. "First order of business after our honeymoon is building a website and creating cards."

Edward watched as Alice pulled her back into the bedroom under protest. "Not even ten seconds of our partnership and she's already calling all the shots."

Jasper snickered, "Did you think any differently?"

~oOo~

_**Three years later**_

Bella gasped as she sat up in bed, her heart beating out of her chest. "What is it?" Edward asked groggily. The wolf that often followed them for a day or two after they left from visiting the cabin howled nearby. Their savior was well fed and cared for by Jake who stayed at the cabin more often than they did.

"Sara Brown has been buried," she moaned and held her hands over her temples. She was dizzy from the lack of air she felt as she dreamt. Sara hadn't made it home earlier that day, at only sixteen, and witnesses indicating a kidnapping, the locals were worried. "Fuck, we have about three hours to find her."

Edward worried, but also knew that whatever life threw at them they handle it together. A sharp cry from the next room had him jumping out of bed. "I'll get her." He kissed the top of Bella's head, phone in hand as he called up Seth, his contact in the local bureau and told him they'd be there in an hour. They often worked on cases together, paid as consultants on some of their unusual cases.

"I better go feed him, he'll head home later." Bella slipped out of bed too, heading toward the French doors that lead to their large backyard. Their wolf had a family back home, and though they didn't see him often, he always seemed to show up when they needed him most.

Edward walked into the blue and lavender room beside theirs. "Hey, baby girl." He watched as Emma bounced on the mattress and reached out for him. Curls as dark as Bella's, was a wild, but beautiful mess around her face. Eyes a mix of his green and her brown ones, dominated her sweet face. Tears trailed down her cheeks as she called out for her mother. "Did you have a nightmare?" She nodded and rubbed at her tears with a tiny fist.

"Mommy," she cried.

"Oh my, God!" Bella screamed from their bedroom. Edward grabbed their daughter and ran back to his wife.

Standing by their bed was their daughter, only he was carrying her.

"She's only two!" As soon as he yelled, the projection of his daughter disappeared. Emma squirmed in his grip, calling out for her mommy. He sighed and slipped into bed with his wife.

Bella rubbed her face and tugged on her hair for a few seconds as she held Emma. She rested her head in the crook of her neck. "She's going to have to be homeschooled. At least until she learns to control it."

"Do you think she dreams like you do?"

Bella shook her head. "I don't think so. She only woke up because she heard me." She looked unsure and Edward hoped she was right.

Shortly after the memorial service for all of Ben's victims after he died, Bella dreamed about scary ass shit. He hated it, but she explained it was different. She didn't experience it first hand with the victims but as a bystander. It wasn't much better, because she often had small bouts of anxiety from them. No more trances thought, and they also happened rarely, which he was grateful for, because she didn't deserve to be a victim anymore.

As he watched her dress and strap on her holster, he knew she wasn't one. He had to do what he could to protect her and their daughter, but so would she. Bella grabbed the keys from the nightstand, adjusting a picture of them on their honeymoon in St. Lucia.

"Ready?" she asked, taking Emma from him. They'd drop her off with a retired Charlie on the way to the office.

Edward pressed a kiss to her lips and another on the baby's head. "Let's go."

There was always going to be bad people and secrets that needed to be unearthed. As long as Edward had her by his side, they'd do the best they could to get as many of them off the streets. They'd keep living as if there was no tomorrow and never take life for granted.

Bella did her best to keep her thoughts to herself. They dropped off their daughter with her grandfather who was pleased to see her, even at two in the morning. Seth gave them a briefing on what they knew so far from Sara's disappearance. As she passed the mirror and looked, she had to take a deep breath to gain some control.

She adjusted her collar and ignored the face looking back at her. It wasn't her own.

Damn, it confirmed her suspicions. They had a copycat.

The End

* * *

**AN: **This does not mean sequel. It's just to show that her life will always be like this. She's closer connected to cases similar to her own, which was why she saw the face in the mirror, like in the first chapter. Most of the time she finds trouble and she reports it. If she dreams something, she figures out what it means. Yes, Edward does let Bella help him in his PI business.

Thank you for taking the time to read, to review, and recommend this story. Some of you conquered your fears, (as I did), to read it and I appreciate that very much. Thanks to Kim, she's been an amazing help for this story.

I have another Detective type Edward coming up. It'll be a while though. I have to finish a few other things first ;)


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